With the news that Paris has been hit by an infestation of bedbugs, and that they have already been making their way across the Channel, one traveller took an innovative approach to staying pest-free.
A woman going by the username @mv.tiangue on TikTok shared a video of her taking rather extreme precautions before boarding the train between the UK and France.
Captioning the video “bedbugs ready”, she says during the social media clip: “Eurostar bedbugs are not gonna get me”.
The footage shows her entering a shop and buying an all-in-one set of white overalls.
She then puts on the hazmat-style suit before boarding a Eurostar service.
Viewers generally seemed in favour of the measure, with one user commenting: “Where do you buy it please?”
Eurostar announced last week it had stepped up cleaning on its trains amid the threat of the bedbug invasion.
The operator confirmed it was ramping up “preventative treatments” across its entire network to help stop the pests reaching the UK.
A spokesperson told The Independent: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority and the presence of insects such as bedbugs on our trains is extremely rare.
“The textile surfaces on all of our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis and this involves hot-water injection and extraction cleaning, which has proven highly effective in eliminating bugs.
“Any reports on hygiene matters are taken very seriously and our cleaning teams, in addition to the usual cleaning, will also disinfect a train on request or as soon as there is the slightest doubt.”
Prior to the latest French ‘plague’, in August this year it was reported that a bedbug epidemic was “sweeping the UK” after pest control company Rentokil highlighted a 65 per cent increase year-on-year in infestations across the country.
The head of science and innovation for North America at Rentokil pest control, Cassie Krejci, said: “Bedbugs are a problem for all travellers, regardless of destination. They are not a symptom of uncleanliness or bad habits otherwise, but rather the consequence of an insect’s success.
“Visitors should worry about bringing bed bugs home from any trip, particularly those in cities where we are seeing a notable increase in the number of infestations reported.”
