SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) — Anxiety over bedbugs is rising across the nation as the number of reports of their presence and damage increases.
Once nearly eliminated in South Korea through the implementation of disinfection campaigns in the 1960s and the introduction of DDT in the 1970s, bedbugs have been making a comeback.
Keimyung University in Daegu took the drastic measure of disinfecting its entire campus after some students were bitten by bedbugs in the dormitory in mid-September. A public sauna in Incheon closed temporarily last month for disinfection after bedbugs and larvae were discovered underneath floor mats, the first bedbug case in years in the area. A goshiwon in Jung Ward in central Seoul was also recently found to have bedbugs in its mattresses and wallpaper.
In Seoul alone, 17 suspected bedbug cases have been reported in seven of the city’s 25 districts.
Bedbugs feed on blood, mostly at night, and while they don’t transmit infectious diseases, their bites can cause skin rashes, severe itching, or allergic reactions.
Many people are now avoiding public transportation and movie theaters due to bedbug fears. Yook Chae-rim, a student at Korea University, said she was alarmed after hearing about a bedbug appearance from a friend who lives in another school’s dormitory. “Despite the hectic exam schedule, I completely stripped all bedding for laundry and had a massive cleaning of my room,” she said.
Lee, a 28-year-old office worker, has decided to avoid movie theaters altogether for a while due to worries about bedbug bites or having the creature carried to her home. “I’m going to wait till the movies I like to see are added to streaming services,” she said.
An online user also wrote Sunday she is feeling “crazy” because of her fears about her two old dogs and cat getting bitten by bedbugs. “It is said that once bedbugs spread it’s very difficult to eradicate them. My concerns about my pets’ health are growing every day.”
One private disinfection service company said it was receiving two to three calls a day about bedbugs. It conducted insect cleanings in some 80 areas in Seoul last month, suggesting the bugs may have spread citywide.
Following the establishment of a pangovernment team to fight the bedbug spread last week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency met with pest control companies and pest experts Monday to assess bedbug reports and examine samples of bedbugs captured.
Seoul has also set up a bedbug report center, allowing people to quickly notify the city of bedbug appearances via public health centers or the city’s special 120 Dasan public call service number. Reports can also be filed through a special banner on the city’s website.
Intensive hygiene inspections are currently under way into 3,175 bedbug-prone public facilities in Seoul, such as hotels, other types of accommodations, public bathhouses and Korean public saunas, called “jjimjilbang.” Seoul plans to hot-steam fabric seats on subways across the city on a regular basis and eventually replace fabric seating with other safer material.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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