Health Bedbug infestations on the rise

[thomas]

The bedbug scourge that has hit the US and Europe has also spread to Japan. The tiny bloodsuckers are proving more resilient than during previous infestations.

The number of inquiries about bedbugs to the Japan Pest Control Association, which consists of companies that eliminate pests, increased from 130 in fiscal 2009 to 706 in fiscal 2019. The association attributed the rise in bedbug infestations to the influx of travellers to Japan. However, the problem was not solely caused by visitors, as the inquiries did not decrease significantly when Japan banned tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bedbugs are small insects, about 5 to 8 millimetres long, that hide in cracks and gaps in mattresses, tatami mats, curtain rails and other items. They come out at night to suck the blood of humans and animals.

Photo credit: Duskins​

A study conducted in the United States 2007 showed that bedbugs resistant to pyrethroid insecticides were rampant. Around that time, the number of consultations about bedbugs began to rise in Japan. Insecticide-resistant bedbugs with the same genetic sequence as those found in the United States were also detected in Japan. After Japan declared a COVID-19 state of emergency, the number of inbound tourists in April 2020 decreased by 99.9 per cent from a year earlier. But the Japan Pest Control Association received 22 inquiries about bedbugs that month, compared with 27 in the same month a year earlier. That means the rate of decline was not as steep as the drop in foreign tourist numbers. The association received 598 bedbug inquiries in fiscal 2021, on par with the pre-pandemic level in fiscal 2018. "While inbound tourists disappeared, we kept receiving inquiries," said Noriyuki Komatsu, a researcher at the association. "It is possible that bedbugs are not only brought into Japan but are also spreading in the country, infesting homes and other places."

Infestations of more resilient bedbugs reported around Japan | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Petaris]

It is interesting that they just assumed that bedbugs were foreigner related.

From what little I know they are very difficult to get rid of, hopefully some new method can be found to easily eliminate them and stop their spread.

 

[nice gaijin]

I had been hearing of the increase in infestations elsewhere, I wonder what's leading to the rise

 

[Petaris]

I had been hearing of the increase in infestations elsewhere, I wonder what's leading to the rise

Probably their resistance to the pesticides/insecticides. The issue gets to be that you will usually want to preserve whatever they are infesting to eradication methods usually need to be non-destructive to their habitat.

 

[nice gaijin]

Probably their resistance to the pesticides/insecticides. The issue gets to be that you will usually want to preserve whatever they are infesting to eradication methods usually need to be non-destructive to their habitat.

Yeah the only treatment for a bedbug-infested mattress I knew of was to burn it.

 

[Lothor]

It is interesting that they just assumed that bedbugs were foreigner related.

From what little I know they are very difficult to get rid of, hopefully some new method can be found to easily eliminate them and stop their spread.

Interesting but not at all surprising!

 

[thomas]

South Korea is the latest country to declare war on bedbugs following a resurgence in cases fueling fresh public anxiety. The wave of infestations comes after a similar outbreak in France. One expert warns Japan may be next.

Officials in Seoul are contending with the country's biggest outbreak of the tiny, biting pests in 40 years. They've logged more than 180 infestations in the past three months. Prior to that, they say, there were just nine cases since 2014. The local media have dubbed the outbreak a "bindemic," a play on the Korean word for the insect, bindae. The nocturnal, bloodsucking creatures have a bite that triggers an allergic reaction in some people, causing intensely itchy welts. Bedbugs usually hide in cracks and gaps in furniture during the day. Their evasive skills, coupled with the female's ability to produce hundreds of eggs, means populations can easily explode.

Watch video

South Korea's bedbug outbreak raises fears in Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Insecticide-resistant bedbugs have swept France and South Korea, and one expert warns they may be headed for Japan next.

www3.nhk.or.jp

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I read the other day , a comment from a fireman that what they fear more then fire and explosions is bedbug infestation.

 

[thomas]

Bed bugs, known for their alarming reproductive rate, have been spotted on a train seat in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The number of incidents is expected to rise as the weather warms up.

​

Bed Bugs Spotted on Train Seat in Tokyo

Bed bugs, known for their alarming reproductive rate, have been spotted on a train seat in the Tokyo metropolitan area. As the weather warms up, the number of incidents is expected to rise.

newsonjapan.com

 

[thomas]

Hotels in Japan are increasingly using trained dogs to detect bedbugs, as dogs can detect insects hidden deep in beds and furniture. Research shows they can detect around 95% of infestations, far more than human inspections, which has driven wider use of the service.

​

Japan saw an explosive growth in bedbug infestations during and after World War II. The bedbug population dwindled around 1970 after effective pesticides were developed and used. But complaints about bedbugs have increased in recent years. The Japan Pest Control Association, a group of exterminators and companies that deal with cockroaches, ticks, rats, bees, mosquitos and bedbugs, said it received 1,176 complaints about bedbugs in fiscal 2023, around 500 more than in the previous year. The figure for fiscal 2024 increased to 1,185. Industry observers said the recent rises have much to do with the steep increase in international visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, bedbug infestations spread around France and South Korea. Many hotel owners in Tokyo feared the bugs would enter Japan on the shoes and luggage of travelers from abroad and gain a foothold in the country. Asante's two bedbug-sniffing dogs checked about 4,000 hotel rooms, mainly at hotels, in fiscal 2024. The company this fiscal year appointed an additional handler to train a new sniffer dog to try to meet rising demand.

Demand for bedbug-sniffing dogs soars at hotels in Japan | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[Ukigumo]

The head of department of Animal and Plant Science in my old university was an expert on Japanese bedbugs which he said were ubiquitous in Japan!