I don’t really want to start this thread but I will, because it might impact sitters and home owners’ lives in the coming weeks more than we would like. I also happen to have been a victim of these little bugs 12 yrs ago, so I know they’re no joke.
If you haven’t heard the news, there is a little bed bug problem in Paris, or France in general. The issue is that as Paris Fashion Week and the Rugby World Cup both attract a lot of people to France, these visitors also will eventually go home, with perhaps little bug visitors in their luggages if they aren’t careful. Not that Paris isn’t attracting already lots of foreign tourists, but it looks like the spotlight on the BB pb has been put on the Rugby World Cup and fashion week. Also, BB were never a new pb, they had them back in 2011, and not just in France, let’s be honest.
I do not want people to fear anything. You also might think because you have no sit planned in France, so you’re ok, but a word of warning: if you plan to sit in the UK, which has a train connection with France, among others, you might be impacted. How? By flight being delayed and-or, noticing a bug or 2 in a public space, or reading something about it in the news. Do I suspect flights will be delayed, grounded, planes evacuated, etc.? I don’T know, but lately, the aviation industry has shown its fair share or problems (August 29th in the UK anyone?) so everything is possible.
I am not reporting on the news, which could be fear mongering (“planes will be grounded and flights cancelled if a super bug is found onboard” - what’s super about it? the size? the speed? the quantity?), I am writing in this forum as it is a traveller’s issue. My BB attack in a rental apt in a tourist area of Paris in 2011 was before Airbnb so I had no help from the owners. I got badly bitten one night and had to go to the health clinic. I spent the next 2 nights wide awake, going insane, sitting on a chair with my feet up. I put all my laundry to wash at 90c, and 12 kilos didn’t make it…(2011 was not a Ryanair type of year where light travels were “suggested”). The worst was not knowing if I had abandoned them behind, or not and was frighten to bring any back home. I didn’t.
If you travel anywhere (we should always do that, but especially now, that it is in the spotlight and might affect travellers and travels in general), make sure you elevate your luggage if you are in a hotel room, put them in the bathtub and check the mattress for signs. If you are pet sitting, please please before you get to the owner’s home, make sure nothing is stuck to your backpack or luggage, and avoid putting these on the ground, as much as possible, in a public transport place such as train stations, airports etc.
There are a million things we can mention about this subject, but the main concern is that because both pet parents and sitters travel, one cancellation or flight delay on one end could bring a lot of headaches, so best to be aware of this travel situation, give ourselves more times before our flight lands (in case of a delay) and the start of our pet sit, etc.
I hope this will not become a global thing, but these days, who knows.
