Homes infested as cockroaches and bedbugs hitch a ride in holiday luggage – Independent.ie

The number of households infested with cockroaches and bedbugs has rocketed following the easing of restrictions on foreign travel.

est controllers said the resumption of non-essential trips abroad over the summer is behind the sharp rise in cases they have been tackling across Ireland as holidaymakers unwittingly transport the insects back home in their luggage.

Trevor Hayden, who runs nationwide service Complete Pest Control, said cockroach and bedbug infestations have been dominating his teams workload since people began travelling overseas regularly again.

We probably went through about 12 months of virtually no call-outs for bedbugs or cockroaches, but since about June this year the number of calls weve been getting has been increasing by the week, he said.

I would estimate were now doing up to 30 call-outs a day for cockroaches and between 15 and 20 a day for bedbugs.

Mr Hayden warned travellers and staycationers to keep their suitcases zipped up when staying in hotels or at holiday accommodation to avoid invasions of creepy-crawlies once they have returned home.

The number one mistake holidaymakers make once they check into their rooms is to put their luggage on their beds and unpack the contents in the wardrobe.

They will then put the suitcases under their beds, and that will attract the insects, which will hitchhike home with them.

Cockroach infestations canbe particularly unpleasant, as the omnivorous, disease- spreading scavengers devour everything in their path, including non-food items such as soap, glue and even toothpaste.

They breed so quickly that their numbers can multiply from one pair to around 250,000 in the space of as little as 12 months.

Bedbugs, which are tiny parasitic insects,also reproduce very quickly and result in people waking up with nasty bites.

Mr Hayden said the number of call-outs for both cockroaches and bedbugs hasnow returned to pre-pandemic levels.

He added that call-outs for ants and wasps had also kept his team busy over the summer.

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