They are scaly, half a centimetre in size – and if you have the little bloodsuckers in your home, “it’s hell for you,” said French Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau recently.

Neighbouring France has recently received a lot of attention for having a bed bug issue – be it in private homes or in the seats at the cinema.

READ ALSO: Factcheck: Is there really a ‘plague’ of bedbugs in France?

But some exterminators in Berlin say bedbug infestations are nothing out of the ordinary in the German capital either. 

“Bedbugs have been part of our everyday life in Berlin for years,” pest controller Mario Heising told t-online.

Bedbug cases have quadrupled

According to the Tagesspiegel, the health department of the central Mitte district reported that the issue is only increasing.

In 2009 they reported 470 bedbug extermination operations, and 2,000 a decade later.

Then came Covid-19, and because people temporarily stopped travelling, the numbers fell slightly, according to Heising.

In the meantime, however, cases are skyrocketing again. “I deal with at least three or four flats with bedbugs a day,” another bedbug exterminator, Adam Tesmer, told the Berliner Morgenpost.

“Our company alone now has cases every day,” Heising told t-online. “Some people cry because their home is so badly infested.”

“They feel ashamed and are afraid of being discredited in front of their neighbours. And some also cry because of the costs they will incur: on average €600 to €2,000.”

Other pest controllers have said that Germany-wide there has not been a noticeable increase of cases in blood thirsty insects following France’s reported outbreak.

READ ALSO: German pest controllers assure no need to worry about bedbugs

How do bedbugs spread and how can I get rid of them?

The Berlin Tenants’ Association stated that “in the vast majority of cases, the landlord is responsible for removing the vermin.” 

Although landlords often refuse to cover the costs, the only exception is when the tenant has culpably caused the defect, for example by knowingly bringing in bedbugs and not taking any further action.” 

The landlord must first prove this before the tenant is responsible for footing any of the costs themselves.

Bedbugs are usually brought back from holiday, but in some cases they also spread from flat to flat, said Heising. 

Large prefabricated buildings with supply shafts or old buildings with many cracks are problematic.

The problem should not be underestimated, said Heising. However, it is nowhere near as bad as it is portrayed in France. 

It is important that people are aware of the danger – and that they turn to professionals in good time.

“I don’t know of one case where a private individual has managed to get rid of bedbugs on their own – but many people who have spent a lot of money on ineffective remedies on the internet.”

“Once the flat is infested, there is no getting rid of them without chemicals,” wrote the Berlin Tenants’ Association. “Professional pest controllers are needed because bedbugs are extremely difficult to control. 

They also stated that a single application is usually not enough.

Heising also emphasised that two or more treatments are often necessary to fully get rid of the blood suckers.