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Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

theguardian.com

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Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#61

Post by criley2 »

lll-o-lll wrote: post #18
sylware wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they mention _american_ bedbugs? airbnb being a really good propagation vector as you cannot have the same grade bug fighting than in a classic hotel. Basically, all big international tourist destinations are at "risk" of no severe bug control is done (airbnb...). What are we going to end up with? if hotel syndicates push mandatory severe bug control (aka expensive) in the regulation, that would make 99% of airbn…

> if hotel syndicates push mandatory severe bug control (aka expensive) in the regulation, that would make 99% of airbnb illegal? We can but dream.

I get where you're coming from, but the idea that we should all rush to giant globo-monopolies to save us from the complexities of small businesses is just wild and disgusting. This is very much the "Microsoft/Apple, save me from Linux" vibe.

EDIT since every reply is the same: AirBnb operates 0 rooms. To be so willfully obtuse about AirBnb is wild.

Clearly the operators of these rentals are small businesses, the vast majority operating less than 10 properties. They use several major booking platforms for their rooms including AirBnb, Vrbo, TripAdvisor and a dozen other vacation rental platforms. Their rooms are not AirBnb's. Their service is not AirBnb's.

I don't even know how to begin to reply to someone who treats AirBnb, a booking platform that operates 0 hotels and 0 rooms, as the same as say a Marriot, who operates 1,423,044 rooms worldwide.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#62

Post by lotsofpulp »

sylware wrote: post #13
brohee wrote: post #6

Writing this article without mentioning AirBnB is quite the exercise in avoiding talking about root causes.

Did they mention _american_ bedbugs? airbnb being a really good propagation vector as you cannot have the same grade bug fighting than in a classic hotel. Basically, all big international tourist destinations are at "risk" of no severe bug control is done (airbnb...). What are we going to end up with? if hotel syndicates push mandatory severe bug control (aka expensive) in the regulation, that would make 99% of airbn…

In my experience, there is no way to get rid of bed bugs without using controlled insecticides, and the room has to be left empty for a week or two.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#63

Post by jdiff »

thelastparadise wrote: post #43
wincy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

That's rude. I see no such "dog whistle" in his post and he makes a rather reasonable argument.

That's the point of a dog whistle, to only be heard by some.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#65

Post by lotsofpulp »

wincy wrote: post #44
kergonath wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not unique to Paris. It is a scourge in the UK as well, and an American friend told me that it was a problem in New York as well (I know, not a great source… I read NYT articles about that but they don’t immediately show up in my history).

We had an in home care nurse who watched our disable infant daughter go on a trip to Abu Dhabi trip, and brought back bed bugs. The nursing company tried to act like this was our responsibility, and tried to act like it was our fault, as if we’d made bedbugs appear ex nihilo. Luckily a lifetime ago I was a licensed exterminator and got it sorted. Treating for bed bugs is not fun, though, and part of the reason I got…

Anyone can get bed bugs anytime from anywhere. There is no way to protect against it, outside of not leaving your bedbug free home. I can see the nursing company’s point of view, since it is akin to an act of God. What were they supposed to do? Ban their employees from traveling in their time off?

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#66

Post by dkjaudyeqooe »

Ensorceled wrote: post #56
dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe if you tried hard enough, but a plain reading of his comment would judge it helpful and accurate.

“In case English is not your first language” is the problematic part.

That's stating the intended audience, otherwise you might come across as condescending or rude, since it's really obvious to any native speaker.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#67

Post by donpott »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #59
unsupp0rted wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a thing of the past that couldn't possibly resurface in the present day What would be stopping them?

I assumed it was cancer causing insecticides like DDT or something.

Indeed, they were on the brink of extinction until the worldwide outlawing of DDT, and have had a huge boom since.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#68

Post by prox »

bsaul wrote: post #36

Paris subway is and has always been an horrible pathogen nest. My life in the winter changed when i stopped having to use it everyday, i basically stopped being sick. Now with the record high amount of homeless in the street at the moment i'm pretty skeptical this is going to get any better.

Subway ventilation can be really bad or badly maintained at least.

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#69

Post by gpt5 »

kergonath wrote: post #48
guntherhermann wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in the UK (north), and I've never in my life heard of anyone dealing with bedbugs here, and can corroborate with the sibling that the only time I've ever heard about them is through US popular culture shows (I thought they were just a warm-climate bug)

We don’t really know why they are coming back. But the fact that they used to be everywhere less than a century ago should make everyone think about protective strategies, instead of thinking that they are someone else’s problem. This is not “lol Paris” (or “lol AirBnB” like some say in other posts), this is a Europe-wide public health problem in the making. AFAICT the number of infestations grew 65% in a year in the…

Why are you ruling out AirBnB’s popularity as a cause? It seems quite plausible, isn’t it?

Re: Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continues

#70

Post by jddj »

criley2 wrote: post #61
lll-o-lll wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if hotel syndicates push mandatory severe bug control (aka expensive) in the regulation, that would make 99% of airbnb illegal? We can but dream.

I get where you're coming from, but the idea that we should all rush to giant globo-monopolies to save us from the complexities of small businesses is just wild and disgusting. This is very much the "Microsoft/Apple, save me from Linux" vibe. EDIT since every reply is the same: AirBnb operates 0 rooms. To be so willfully obtuse about AirBnb is wild. Clearly the operators of these rentals are small businesses, the vas…

Bit of a facetious take, but I think it has some value: Airbnb isn't a particularly small business, compared to your average hotel.
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