Paris' bedbug battle escalates ahead of 2024 Olympics: Sniffer dogs join the fight

For months, France has been combating a bedbug infestation. These parasites are everywhere - in metros, buses, trains, cinemas, and other public places. Small, blood-sucking, and difficult to eradicate, these bugs have grown immune to common chemicals and have adapted well to human environments.

Preparations for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are well underway. The French expect an influx of athletes and fans from around the globe. Hoteliers are eager for this event. However, the bedbug issue is a significant concern. Parisians are again deploying sniffer dogs to combat these parasites to address this.

"Le Parisien" newspaper reports an increasing trend among Parisian hotel owners requesting pest control companies for dog-assisted room inspections.

"Hoteliers wish to avoid negative reviews with images from unhappy guests on their booking platforms. For this reason, they are scheduling preventative room checks", explains Sébastien Pizzocaro, who leads a group that uses dogs to detect bedbugs, in a conversation with the newspaper.

Hotel owners must pay 30 euros (approximately $34) for each room inspected. If the dogs detect the insects, pest control workers treat the room with steam.

French authorities recently stated that there has been an increase in bedbug incidents over the past few years. Estimates show that from 2017 to 2022, almost 11 percent of all French households were affected by this issue.