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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

#71

Post by lotsofpulp »

gpt5 wrote: post #69
kergonath wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Hotels get bed bugs all the time. The cause is people traveling, allowing bed bugs to hitch a ride.

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

#72

Post by throwaway290 »

Cockbrand wrote: post #19
throwaway290 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is awesome. Now I wonder if I'm similarly wrong about mosquitoes... (edit: those suckers do of course transmit, malaria and so on, but not sure about other diseases like hiv or hepatitis, haven't heard of mosquitoes as vector?)

Unfortunately not, they're considered "the world's deadliest animal" https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/stories/2019/world-deadlies... [Edit: posted before your edit. Bonus points for the "suckers" pun :) ]

Yeah I realized after posting that "do mosquitoes transmit?" is a silly question:)

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

#73

Post by dvhh »

bsaul wrote: post #39
SettembreNero wrote: post #23

Bedbugs have been a problem for years in Paris, but of course the government starts to think about it for the Olympics. Regular people can rot in hell for what they care

for sure, public transport would be different if politicians were using it.

The risk of being either slapped or punched in the face on a daily basis, would certainly prevent most politicians to mingle with regular people.

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

#74

Post by lotsofpulp »

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…

Almost all US hotels are owned and operated by smaller companies/families. Hilton/marriott/IHG/hyatt/choice/wyndham/etc sell their brand to franchisees.

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

#75

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…

There is no such thing as severe bed bug control. The only way you know if there are bed bugs (unless it is somehow a severe infestation), is if a guest complains about being bit, and then the only thing left to do is call a pest control company and have them do their thing while the room is empty for a couple weeks.

99% of the time, it is only a couple bed bugs, and you are not likely to find them before they bite someone.

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

#76

Post by praptak »

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…

But Airbnb is a giant globo-monopoly.

So the actual choice isnt between globo-monopolies and small business. It's between monopolies that don't spread bed bugs and one that does.

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

#77

Post by Amezarak »

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…

Airbnb has 8.4 billion in revenue and 16 billion in assets. They are not a "small business." Hilton's revenue is 8.7 billion and they have 15 billion in assets. Hilton also doesn't cause rental and home prices to rise.

People with enough money to buy homes to rent out as Airbnbs can buy or build small hotels with a little extra effort.

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

#78

Post by guntherhermann »

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…

Hey mate, you're tilting at windmills. Chill with the hyperbole, it'll be ok.

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

#79

Post by lotsofpulp »

Amezarak wrote: post #77
criley2 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Airbnb has 8.4 billion in revenue and 16 billion in assets. They are not a "small business." Hilton's revenue is 8.7 billion and they have 15 billion in assets. Hilton also doesn't cause rental and home prices to rise. People with enough money to buy homes to rent out as Airbnbs can buy or build small hotels with a little extra effort.

> People with enough money to buy homes to rent out as Airbnbs can buy or build small hotels with a little extra effort.

I don’t see how this can be true. A half decent hotel in even cheaper parts of the US is going to cost $100k per key, and in any popular city, multiples more. Plus, if you want to buy a franchise from Hilton/Marriott/Hyatt, they are going to ask one of the owners to already have another hotel as a credit check.

Buying a house or condo, on the other hand, only requires a few hundred thousand, outside of the most expensive areas.

And building a hotel is a completely different ballgame than buying an existing property. Cities long ago stopped approving small motels to be built, and clearing the permits/buying the land/getting a construction loan/ensuring your GC does the job on time is a whole lot of risk.

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

#80

Post by rat9988 »

onion2k wrote: post #21
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?

A likely candidate would be modern materials used in mattresses and bedlinen.

Which would have no effect on them actually. They aren't call bedbugs because it's their natural and only habitat.
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