The concept of going to Paris for reading week, sitting by the Fontaine des Fleuves while you catch up on a chapter of a textbook, and catching the eye of a dashing French local you immediately become acquainted with has a certain mystique to it. A scandalous dalliance, a romantic rendezvous, communicating mostly with croissants and kisses. It’s something out of a Julia Quinn novel, we know. What isn’t conjured up in the mind when thinking of your little reading day jaunt is the latest addition to quintessential Parisian society: bedbugs.
“What isn’t conjured up in the mind when thinking of your little reading day jaunt is the latest addition to quintessential Parisian society: bedbugs”
Paris is currently swarming with bedbugs and has been since Paris Fashion Week. While popular tourist cities usually have their fair share of bed and mite problems, this time it’s not organic. Allegedly, an incel 4chan person (naturally) bred the bugs for months with the distinct plan to release them and wreak havoc. They have been seen on trains, in cinemas, in homes, and hostels. The bugs evidently flourish in warm weather and the last two months have been warmer than normal, making the infestation thrive. Still, Paris is Paris, and the allure of the iconic city is hard to resist. It’s the city of love, but with bed bugs rampant, it might be hard for Paris to live up to its name. So we’re giving you some handy dandy information before you suddenly find an unexpected guest as your third.
Admittedly, it’s a bit difficult to spot the nasty little bedfellows. The most common places to find them are the bed (duh), in sofas, carpets, and under chairs where the fabric meets the furniture – basically any place you’d get intimate. Take a light and a stiff, flat-edged object like a credit card, and move it across areas like the mattress seam and the couch cushion. The first physical and visual signs are itchy bites, rusty spots in the linens of the bed from the bugs being crushed, and shedding shells. But just like many STDs you don’t know you have them until you know you have them. Obviously playing bedbug detective isn’t very sultry and you probably can’t take those steps in the middle of a hookup. If you want to spend the night somewhere you cannot or have not checked for bed bugs, take all your clothes and wash and dry them at the highest temperature for at least 30 minutes. Think of it as emergency contraception—the quicker you address the possible situation the better.
“Think of it as emergency contraception—the quicker you address the possible situation the better”
Paris is the city of love and it’s certainly an experience one way or another, whether that be a week away with your longtime partner or visiting one of the several swinger clubs in the city by yourself. And yes, while we may be picturing bedbugs with a little french moustache, a white and black striped shirt, and a baguette, there’s no need for them to migrate from Paris to Trinity. We all know the student accommodation has enough problems as is and the worst thing you need to worry about after reading week is being reminded that you texted your ex that one night while you were very drunk and you, uh, kind of forgot to actually study. So be kind, boil the bugs.
“While we may be picturing bedbugs with a little french moustache, a white and black striped shirt, and a baguette, there’s no need for them to migrate from Paris to Trinity”
