Bed bug infestations on the rise across Australia: What you need to do
Bed bug infestations are on the rise across Australia. Here’s what you need to do if you get them. Following Paris’s bed bug “plague” and the influx of Aussie travellers returning home after the holidays, it’s no surprise that bed bugs are increasingly being found across the country.
Video transcript
- Bedbug infestations are on the rise across Australia. Here's what you need to do if you get them.
Following Paris's bedbug plague and the influx of Aussie travelers returning home after the holidays, it's no surprise that bedbugs are increasingly being found across the country. State governments and pest experts alike have confirmed there has been a resurgence in recent times, and infestations are more common than people think. Recently former MAFS star Domenica Calarco was attacked by the pests while in a Melbourne hotel and told Yahoo News Australia the itching is so intense, you can't have clothes on. Even air conditioning would make me itchy when I would feel the breeze on my skin. The reality star went on to label the incident as traumatic.
Sydney pest control expert Christopher Miskella confirmed the rise in infestations, saying since travel returned to post-COVID, he's seen an increase of bedbug jobs coming his way, and he now attends at least two of these jobs per week himself. He said it's non-stop and things can get wildly out of control. It's horrendous.
The expert said bedbug infestations are the worst pest problem people can experience, and he has seen it cause serious mental health and financial stresses. He explained it takes a minimum of six weeks of step-by-step treatments. You need to do it properly, and people need to do all the preparation work first.
Preparation work recommended before beginning professional treatment includes emptying infected rooms of all items and furniture and heat washing all clothes and linen using heat that's over 50 degrees. Following this, a pest controller soaks the area in chemicals on at least two separate occasions with Miskella then recommending a final hot steam clean of the space. During those weeks, it's recommended that you do not stay in those rooms as these infestations can easily come back. While costs can vary for bedbug infestation treatment, Miskella claims to do it properly, people need to spend up to $1,000 to put an end to the pests in the home.
