Just 54 bedbug cases? Exterminators say there are much more.

Social Affairs

Published: 19 Nov. 2023, 13:37

Just 54 bedbug cases? Exterminators say there are much more.

A professional exterminator works to eradicate bedbugs at a flophouse in Seongnam, southern Gyeonggi, on Monday morning. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Professional exterminators arrived Monday at a flophouse in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, to conduct a second round of bedbug exterminations. During the first round of exterminations on Nov. 1, the company found evidence of bedbugs in a room where 88-year-old Mr. Kim has lived for seven years.

They found dark bedbug droppings between the mattress and the wall and two dead bedbugs in the cobwebs.

“I am not sure where those bedbugs are from or how they entered my room,” said Kim.

“In the 1950s, nearly all family homes had bedbugs, but they disappeared when people started to use the U.S.-made pesticide. It’s been more than 70 years since I saw them.”

Han Ho, the head of the extermination company, told the JoongAng Ilbo that his company has been getting constant bedbug extermination requests from gosiwon (studio apartments for students), accommodation facilities and homes nationwide.

Bedbugs droppings, eggs and shells at a gosiwon in Incheon. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

“Inside a gosiwon in Incheon, we found bedbug droppings, eggs and their shells spread across a 30-centimeter-by-30-centimeter space on the wall behind a closet,” he said. “And we found hundreds of living bedbugs, too.”

He said his company gets more than 30 requests a day.

Cleaning experts say completely eradicating the critters is no mean feat.

The professionals at Han's company hot-steam places thoroughly. Then, to minimize the pesticides’ effect on humans, they apply chemicals specifically in areas where bedbugs are likely to infest. The final step is fumigation after sealing the place completely.

“People’s health is more important than exterminating the bugs," Han said. “Rather than maximizing pesticide use, we use strong, hot steam first and then fumigation, which is effective for asphyxiating bedbugs,” Han added.

The government set up a joint national headquarters on Nov. 3 to manage its war on bedbugs. The authorities will invest resources in inspections and prevention through Dec. 8.

Professional cleaners inspect and sterilize the accommodation facility in Busan on Monday. [YONHAP]

Facilities shared by many people, notably accommodation, dormitories, bathing and social welfare facilities, will be monitored during the period. The authorities will even carefully inspect correction facilities where many inmates are incarcerated.

City offices in metropolitan areas have strongly encouraged high-risk facilities to immediately report infestations to the Dasan Call Center 120 or local health authorities.

Local authorities originally planned to conduct on-site inspections but revoked the plan after a backlash from business owners.

According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 187 suspected cases have been reported since the first report of bedbugs on Sep. 8, though only 54 proved to be confirmed bedbug infestations.

The ministry plans weekly briefings of reported and confirmed cases every Tuesday.

On the other hand, Han's company says it has eradicated infestations at more than 300 sites since October.

The company attributes the discrepancy between its number and the official number to a legal loophole not mandating people to report infestations because they do not transmit diseases to humans.

“Property owners just get rid of bedbugs at their end without seeking professional help," said Yang Young-cheol, an environmental health and safety professor at Eulji University.

"Those owners, professional cleaners and local health authorities should be in close touch to establish a sound system to collect precise data, considering the pain that bedbugs could inflict on our daily lives.”

He added, “If possible, the government should support people most vulnerable to infestations so that they could take preventive measures.”

Only nine bedbug reports were made to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency between 2014 and September's first infestation.

Academics believe the bedbugs came from overseas. In the 1960s, the powerful pesticide DDT — which has since been banned — was sprayed across Korea.

In the 1970s, most Korean households also used sulfur dioxide-emitting coal briquettes for heating, which some scholars credit with helping eradicate bedbugs.

The Ministry of Environment on Friday granted emergency use approval for neonicotinoid, a pesticide chemically related to nicotine, but only allowed professional exterminators to use it. This measure came after a study from Seoul National University revealed that bedbugs have developed strong resistance against pyrethroid insecticide.

BY SON SUNG-BAE, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]