FACTCHECK: Has France's bedbug problem reached Spain?
Following headlines about a 'plague' of bedbugs in France in recent weeks, much of the Spanish press is reporting that the problem has now reached Spain and is already affecting several regions of the country.
Is there any truth to it?
If you keep up with international media, you might've seen in recent weeks that a so-called 'plague' of bedbugs has invaded France.
Whether it be on the bus or Paris metro, on cinema seats or hotel beds, a combination of social media moral panic and the added international focus of hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup has made it a big story that has even developed a political angle in Spain's northern neighbour.
Has France's bedbug problem reached Spain?
Judging by Spanish media coverage, it seems that these blood sucking insects have made their way across the Pyrenees and arrived in Spain in recent weeks, and are now affecting as many as six regions of the country according to pest control companies.
However, experts also say that bedbugs (called chinches in Spanish) are a pre-existing problem not only in France or Spain but around Europe.
According to reports in the Spanish press, evidence of bedbugs (described as ‘a plague’ by many outlets, like in France) have so far been found in Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia and Aragón.
READ ALSO: FACTCHECK: Is there really a 'plague' of bedbugs in France?
A report from pest control company Anticimex claims that the number of bedbugs in Spain has increased by 71 percent from January to September of 2023. This has caused concern among regional authorities and health services in several parts of the country.
In Madrid, the focus has been on bedbug outbreaks in the areas of Lavapiés and Vallecas specifically, and the city council has registered an average of one complaint per day related to bedbugs. Health authorities in the Spanish capital have assured the general public that "it's all under control" and that "there's no need to worry".
But the problem is nothing new and certainly not unique to Spain, as recent events in France have shown. The story has also gained huge international traction – the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said recently that a spike in bedbug cases in France "is a real source of concern", as fears grow of the blood-sucking insects spreading to Britain.
However, Spain's National Association of Environmental Health Companies warned in a statement last week that the presence of bedbugs was a problem throughout Europe.
"They have been with us for several years, the problem is that there are more and more and they are not going to stop increasing," Óscar Soriano, a senior scientist at Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) who studies the impact of arthropods on human health, said in the Spanish press.
READ ALSO: What to do about insects and other pests in your home in Spain?
Why the sudden panic?
Bedbugs have shared space with humans since the neolithic era, so they're not new. And it's also not news that they exist in France or Spain or anywhere else for that matter.
Yet the supposed outbreak in France has caused somewhat of a panic, and with worries that the 'outbreak' has now reached Spain it appears likely the Spanish media and Spain's social media influencers will latch onto the story in the same way the French press did.
In France the social alarm began when cinemagoers in Paris reported being bitten by the bugs while watching a film, with several people posting pictures on social media of their limbs covered in itchy bite-marks. A few days later, others reported seeing the bugs on trains.
The story was widely reported and then politicians got involved and accused the government of being 'caught napping' by the bedbug invasion, calling on them to take action to protect the population.
Equally, though experts say bedbugs are (and have long been) a problem everywhere, the fact this happened while France is hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024 means that the issue was put under an extra international spotlight.
Are there bedbugs in Spain? Yes, absolutely. Have they arrived across the Pyrenees as part of a huge plague coming from France? It seems unlikely, as according to pest control experts there was already a large and now increasing presence of bedbugs in Spain.
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If you keep up with international media, you might've seen in recent weeks that a so-called 'plague' of bedbugs has invaded France.
Whether it be on the bus or Paris metro, on cinema seats or hotel beds, a combination of social media moral panic and the added international focus of hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup has made it a big story that has even developed a political angle in Spain's northern neighbour.
Has France's bedbug problem reached Spain?
Judging by Spanish media coverage, it seems that these blood sucking insects have made their way across the Pyrenees and arrived in Spain in recent weeks, and are now affecting as many as six regions of the country according to pest control companies.
However, experts also say that bedbugs (called chinches in Spanish) are a pre-existing problem not only in France or Spain but around Europe.
According to reports in the Spanish press, evidence of bedbugs (described as ‘a plague’ by many outlets, like in France) have so far been found in Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia and Aragón.
READ ALSO: FACTCHECK: Is there really a 'plague' of bedbugs in France?
A report from pest control company Anticimex claims that the number of bedbugs in Spain has increased by 71 percent from January to September of 2023. This has caused concern among regional authorities and health services in several parts of the country.
In Madrid, the focus has been on bedbug outbreaks in the areas of Lavapiés and Vallecas specifically, and the city council has registered an average of one complaint per day related to bedbugs. Health authorities in the Spanish capital have assured the general public that "it's all under control" and that "there's no need to worry".
But the problem is nothing new and certainly not unique to Spain, as recent events in France have shown. The story has also gained huge international traction – the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said recently that a spike in bedbug cases in France "is a real source of concern", as fears grow of the blood-sucking insects spreading to Britain.
However, Spain's National Association of Environmental Health Companies warned in a statement last week that the presence of bedbugs was a problem throughout Europe.
"They have been with us for several years, the problem is that there are more and more and they are not going to stop increasing," Óscar Soriano, a senior scientist at Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) who studies the impact of arthropods on human health, said in the Spanish press.
READ ALSO: What to do about insects and other pests in your home in Spain?
Why the sudden panic?
Bedbugs have shared space with humans since the neolithic era, so they're not new. And it's also not news that they exist in France or Spain or anywhere else for that matter.
Yet the supposed outbreak in France has caused somewhat of a panic, and with worries that the 'outbreak' has now reached Spain it appears likely the Spanish media and Spain's social media influencers will latch onto the story in the same way the French press did.
In France the social alarm began when cinemagoers in Paris reported being bitten by the bugs while watching a film, with several people posting pictures on social media of their limbs covered in itchy bite-marks. A few days later, others reported seeing the bugs on trains.
The story was widely reported and then politicians got involved and accused the government of being 'caught napping' by the bedbug invasion, calling on them to take action to protect the population.
Equally, though experts say bedbugs are (and have long been) a problem everywhere, the fact this happened while France is hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024 means that the issue was put under an extra international spotlight.
Are there bedbugs in Spain? Yes, absolutely. Have they arrived across the Pyrenees as part of a huge plague coming from France? It seems unlikely, as according to pest control experts there was already a large and now increasing presence of bedbugs in Spain.
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