Bedbug-related consultations spike in Tokyo, Osaka amid increasing infestations

There has been a sudden surge in bedbug-related consultations this year in some of the major metropolitan areas of Japan like Tokyo and Osaka, as per the pest control associations in the two prefectures, as experts warned that infestations have been spreading across the country.

The bloodsucking pests' sudden resurgence in Japan follows reports of similar kind of outbreaks in countries like France and South Korea, which raised alarm among the people amid domestic and international travel rebounds after the coronavirus pandemic.

Bedbugs, which are nearly 5 millimetres long and are stink bug's nocturnal relatives, hide in cracks and gaps in furniture during the day and come out at night to feed on humans. The bites of bedbugs lead to an allergic reaction in some people which results in intensely itchy welts.

The difficulties in detecting the tiny critters and the ability of the female to lay hundreds of eggs in her lifetime meanthat infestations can spread easily if they hitch rides on belongings or clothing.

Although bedbugs have been found in Japan since the late 19th century and also spread throughout the country at a given point in time, their numbers decreased sharply around 1970 due to the widespread use of potent insecticides. From the 2000s, however, some of the bugs started developing resistance to the insecticides.

According to the Pest Control Association of Tokyo, the capital received nearly 306 bedbug-related consultations till November, which surpassed the 247 consultations they received in 2022.

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Consultations increased eight-fold in November: report

Tokyo-based insecticide manufacturer Earth Corp said that consultations regarding bedbugs increased eight-fold in November in comparison to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Osaka received 307 consultations till the end of November which is nearly 50 per cent more than last year. After a report regarding the spread of bedbugs in the Osaka Metro circulated on social media emerged in late November, it prompted its operator to clean all 1,380 of its trains.

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In 2009, the consultations reached 683 and it increased around five-fold nationwide in 2022 as people asked for referrals to exterminators and help in trying to get rid of bedbugs.

President of the Japan Society of Medical Entomology and Zoology and a professor of dermatology at Hyogo Medical University Masaru Natsuaki said that bedbug infestations have been occurring even outside urban areas, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

“[People are getting bitten] in various parts of the country, and nowhere can be considered safe. I want people to have the mindset that it can happen anywhere in the country,” said Natsuaki.

(With inputs from agencies)