German pest controllers assure no need to worry about bedbugs
Pest controllers in Germany see no reason to panic about bedbugs despite the concerns in neighbouring France.
"This hype that is going on in France right now is quite incomprehensible for all of us," Kai Scheffler, board member of the German Pest Control Association, told DPA in Berlin on Thursday.
It is true that the number of bedbugs has increased overall, in Germany and elsewhere, confirmed Scheffler, who runs his own pest control company in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia.
However, this has to do with the fact that people are travelling more after the Covid-19 pandemic and have become more attentive to the tiny insects, which are not only found in beds but also furniture like couches, in curtains and even in drawers.
There is no current reason for the increased occurrence of the pests, he added.
The bugs were virtually extinct in the 1950s, but since then have seen a steady resurgence, which most experts blame on the ban on chemicals such as DDT that used to be used to kill them.
In France, people have recently spread more photos and videos of suspected bedbugs - for example from the cinema or the train.
Even the French government felt compelled to react: Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne called a ministerial meeting to discuss the reported rise of the bloodthirsty insects.
READ ALSO: FACTCHECK: Is there really a 'plague' of bedbugs in France?
But neither at Scheffler’s federation nor at his company could he notice more enquiries from private individuals since the news from France, he said said.
"Primarily, bed bugs are found in communal accommodation," the expert explained.
About 90 percent of his clientele in Germany are at are lodgings where residents change relatively frequently, and about ten percent are private households.
Are bedbugs harmful?
Bedbugs leave bites on the arms and legs that can be very itchy, especially if you have a sensitivity, which in rare cases develop into blisters.
There's no doubt that the itching is extremely annoying, while people who have bedbugs in their home often find it hard to sleep until the infestation has been cleared out.
However, the bugs do not spread any kind of disease and do not cause serious health problems.
Vocabulary
bedbug - (die) Bettwanze
pest exterminator - (der) Schädlingsbekämpfer
incomprehensible - unverständlich
lodging - (die) Beherbergung
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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"This hype that is going on in France right now is quite incomprehensible for all of us," Kai Scheffler, board member of the German Pest Control Association, told DPA in Berlin on Thursday.
It is true that the number of bedbugs has increased overall, in Germany and elsewhere, confirmed Scheffler, who runs his own pest control company in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia.
However, this has to do with the fact that people are travelling more after the Covid-19 pandemic and have become more attentive to the tiny insects, which are not only found in beds but also furniture like couches, in curtains and even in drawers.
There is no current reason for the increased occurrence of the pests, he added.
The bugs were virtually extinct in the 1950s, but since then have seen a steady resurgence, which most experts blame on the ban on chemicals such as DDT that used to be used to kill them.
In France, people have recently spread more photos and videos of suspected bedbugs - for example from the cinema or the train.
Even the French government felt compelled to react: Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne called a ministerial meeting to discuss the reported rise of the bloodthirsty insects.
READ ALSO: FACTCHECK: Is there really a 'plague' of bedbugs in France?
But neither at Scheffler’s federation nor at his company could he notice more enquiries from private individuals since the news from France, he said said.
"Primarily, bed bugs are found in communal accommodation," the expert explained.
About 90 percent of his clientele in Germany are at are lodgings where residents change relatively frequently, and about ten percent are private households.
Are bedbugs harmful?
Bedbugs leave bites on the arms and legs that can be very itchy, especially if you have a sensitivity, which in rare cases develop into blisters.
There's no doubt that the itching is extremely annoying, while people who have bedbugs in their home often find it hard to sleep until the infestation has been cleared out.
However, the bugs do not spread any kind of disease and do not cause serious health problems.
Vocabulary
bedbug - (die) Bettwanze
pest exterminator - (der) Schädlingsbekämpfer
incomprehensible - unverständlich
lodging - (die) Beherbergung
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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