Fashion Week's Unglamorous Hanger-Ons: CA Faces Bedbug Invasion

CALIFORNIA — As crowds travel from Paris Fashion Week to Los Angeles Fashion Week this month, pest control professionals said there is a very real risk that travelers are bringing bedbugs home with them.

Reports of an invasion of bedbugs in Paris made international news as the pests were seen crawling around in hotels, movie theaters and even seats on high-speed trains and the Paris Metro system.

Bedbugs are not new to the Golden State. Los Angeles ranks among the top five and San Francisco ranks 22nd among U.S. cities with the most bedbugs. However, pest control professional Zachary Smith of The Pest Dude said the Paris infestation could exacerbate California's already worsening problem.

"Turns out there is really a heavy bedbug infestation going on all around the world, especially in major metropolitan centers, as they go from hotel to airport," Smith said.

Smith said even he is reluctant to look for bed bugs when he checks into a hotel because part of him doesn't want to know. Despite that, Smith does anyway and he encourages more people to be diligent at hotels, movie theaters and even airplanes to avoid taking the pests home.

According to Los Angeles Vector Control, bedbugs are expert hiders and people can unknowingly take them home in luggage after staying in infested hotel and motel rooms abroad as well as in boxes or furniture moving from one site to another.

"If somebody's in a more rural area, they're not going to transfer bedbugs to each other as quickly as folks who are constantly bumping into each other," Smith expalined.

Smith said to look out for small red to dark brown colored bugs as well as tiny splotches of red on places around the bed, other furniture, purses and clothing. Bedbugs go where the food is, Smith said, and come out during the night to take their meals from sleeping humans.

They also reproduce quickly. Females can deposit up to five eggs a day, and from 200 to 500 over their lifetime. Smith said they have remarkable resilience and can survive for several months waiting for their next blood meal, so they’re most likely to emerge when people are near.

"Bedbugs aren't actually dangerous. They're very annoying and a lot of folks are getting them reintroduced, people who live in apartment complexes," Smith said.

To treat bed bugs at home, Californians can use chemical methods such as insecticides and residual treatments. For those who prefer not to use chemical methods, Smith recommended:

• Temperature - Wash and dry textiles on high heat for 30 minutes each or freeze items for four days.
• Steam - Use a steamer on infested areas such as couches or mattresses.
• Desiccants - Silica aerogel and diatomaceous earth destroy the protective coating that bedbugs have, causing dehydration and killing them.
• Botanical Sprays - Natural sprays with ingredients like clove oil can effectively kill bedbugs.

"In this rapidly evolving situation, awareness and timely action are our best defenses," Smith said. "While bedbugs have always been a concern, their resilience and adaptability make it crucial for everyone to be informed and proactive.”