A woman who once fought a bedbug infestation has warned people they “should be worried” about the bloodsucking critters’ booming population in Paris, with their migration to the UK now seemingly underway.

Bedbugs have now been spotted in two cities, with an “alarming number of calls” reporting their presence in Luton and videos showing their gradual takeover of the London Underground.

Experts have noted the insects are behaving unusually, as they are seen active during the day and climbing on a variety of different surfaces – even uncarpeted floorboards.

These give the unprecedented Paris outbreak new features, making infestations even more troublesome, and one journalist has told how their experience with bedbugs was already hellish half a decade ago.

Writing for The Times, journalist Isolde Walters said she battled an “exhausting” outbreak that took over her life for a month while she lived in New York.

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Ms Walters wrote that her “nightmare” began when she “spotted a crimson bug crawling across my duvet” and sent a photo to her flatmates, alerting them to the infestation.

Once they discovered more signs of the bugs – including their trademark rash-like bites – they informed their building managers, who “sprang into action” and called a team of exterminators.

As the exterminator crew treated their home with specially designed spray, the flatmates had to wash all their clothes, towels and bedding, with unwashables thrown into an oven-sized bedbug zapper.

Mr Walters said the flatmates battled their infestation for a month, adding the experience was “exhausting”.

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Bedbug infestations are among the most difficult to tackle, with most outbreaks taking between three and six weeks of consistent treatment, sometimes months on end, depending on the situation.

Even once the comprehensive deep cleaning is finished, people must remain vigilant, as the insects can leave eggs that lay the foundations for another round.

Modern bedbugs, like those found in Paris, may, unfortunately, also be more resistant to modern extermination methods, making them an even trickier problem to tackle.

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Specialists have said that, over time, the insects have “turned into some of the most hardened insects on the planet” after populations survived doses of now-banned insecticide Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).

Bedbugs have earned their name from years of primarily inhabiting mattresses, but they are now much more widespread and have been associated with a greater variety of conditions.

They can travel in luggage and on clothes and can cause sleeping issues, depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.

Have you seen bedbugs in the UK recently? Get in touch [email protected]

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