(Photo: by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images) This photograph taken on October 3, 2023, shows a placard reading "Bed bugs" on a mattress abandoned on the pavement in a street in Marseille, southern France.
The UK experienced a 65% increase in bedbug occurrences in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period the previous year, according to pest treatment business Rentokil.
Luton Council also provided advice to locals this week on how to address an outbreak after fielding an "alarming number" of bedbug-related phone calls.
Depending on the temperature, an adult female can deposit 400 eggs in her brief lifetime, which can be as little as a few months. The eggs need to be incubated for roughly two weeks.
The Spotta
A bedbug-attracting pheromone chemical is contained in the Spotta gadget, a little plastic box. The gadgets are placed between beds and mattresses in hotels, according to BBC News.
If a bug gets inside, a tiny camera snaps a photo and uploads it to a main database online.
The human eye and artificial intelligence algorithms work together to confirm the presence of bedbugs. If so, the appropriate management receives a cell phone alert notice.
Before the issue spreads, chemical pesticides or heat treatment pest control procedures can be used once a bug has been identified. Hopefully, fewer customers will notice the problems or post about their encounters on social media.
The Valpas
Finland's Valpas, which was established in 2013, is the organization that invented this early detection strategy. With numerous upscale hotels across Europe, it has agreements in place.
It has created a digitally networked bug trap that is built into the unique bed legs it creates. Venture capital has invested more than $2 million (£1.6 million) in it.
In order to warn hotel owners, traps are set up in rooms to catch bugs that are trying to bite people while climbing up the bed.
Like Spotta, Valpas has struggled to overcome the stigma associated with the notion that hotels should even need "pest control"; after all, it's not the first thing you put on advertisements. However, many hotel chains now find value in demonstrating that they are proactive about it as the bedbug problem becomes more known in the media and on social media.
Read also: Travel Safety Guide 2023: How to Check for Hotel Room Bed Bugs-Things You Can Do During Your Stay
Sniffer Dogs
Another popular method for receiving a bedbug early warning is provided not by technology but by man's best buddy.
The training of bedbug-focused sniffer canines takes about six months. But after they graduate, they are very powerful.
The dogs don't need any upkeep, and they don't run the risk of experiencing technological difficulties or going offline. It takes them a while to check a big hotel, room by room, and they can't be there every day.
Sniffer dogs are being used by Rentokil in the battle against bedbugs. Trained technicians gather an air sample from, say, a hotel room, using a backpack vacuum. As soon as the samples arrive at the facility, Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, or Belgian Shepherds will sniff them out and inform their handlers.
Related article: [UPDATE] Paris Bedbug Outbreak: French Officials Sound Alarm, Call for Immediate Response to Crisis
