Don’t let the bed bugs bite

Don’t let the bed bugs bite

Local authorities in Queensland, Australia, are developing emergency plans to combat an epidemic of bed bugs in local hostels, amid fears they may eat into the tourist trade.

The bugs can survive for months without food and have been hitching rides in backpackers’ luggage and going on their own voyages of discovery, often ending up in and around Australia’s famous Bondi Beach.

A recent report commissioned by Sydney City Council found that eight out of ten backpacker hostels in the city’s eastern suburbs were infested with bed bugs.

The bedbugs continue their rampage throughout Australia. Slow to move creatures, they still manage to beat the ever-distracted government red tape that would hasten their deaths. Australiablog waits anxiously for one of the council members to spend the night in a hostel and awake with gifts from the visitors.