HumanistHiker
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Portugues September-October 2023
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Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.
And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on;
While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.
The media had to qualify bedbugs with Christian pilgrims (as if they know the faith of the travelers...). Could they just have said 'pilgrims'? The bias against people of faith is disturbing.After the BBC website reporting on the great Parisian bedbug panic over the last few weeks, bedbugs on the Camino Portugues have now caught UK journalists' attention.
Article on the Telegraph website - not sure if you'll all be able to view as the Telegraph paywall can be finicky https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...-spain-hostel-camino-de-santiago-caldas-reis/
" Insects spread by those completing St James Way pilgrimage in northern Spain after initial outbreak in Paris
By James Badcock in Madrid 19 October 2023 • 3:06pm
Bedbugs have been spread by Christians undertaking the St James Way pilgrimage in Spain, forcing hostel owners to close or bring in exterminators.
Half a dozen hostels have been forced to temporarily close for fumigation in Caldas de Reis, en route to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela.
“Fumigation helps but this year we have seen an enormous number of pilgrims and what this means is that they transport the bugs from one place to another,” said Jesús Fariña, manager of the Doña Urraca hostel in the town.
A group of 43 pilgrims first sounded the alarm in August when they were forced to cancel their stay at a hostel in Ribadiso because of the volume of bedbugs they discovered.
The group was put up by the council in nearby Arzúa so participants could complete the final day of walking westward to Santiago.
A warm and long summer has been blamed for the outbreak, which has led many establishments to introduce new rules to prevent the insects spreading through travellers’ clothes and baggage.
“We don’t allow guests to take their rucksacks or boots into their rooms,” Mr Fariña told the newspaper El Periódico de España.
One hostel in Caldas de Reis is reported to have shut for a six-month refurbishment after fumigation failed to dislodge the bugs, typically hiding in cracks in the furniture or behind wooden fittings.
“The problem with bedbugs is that if they get into the wood, you have to take everything apart to get rid of the pests,” said Celestino Lores, from the Virxe Peregrina hostel in Pontevedra.
“We had to remove the skirting boards and window trim to eradicate them.”
Both Spain and France have received about 70 per cent more reports of infestations this year, compared with 2022.
Madrid council has said it is receiving a new report every day, but is confident the levels will not reach those of Paris because the city’s “subway seats are not made of cloth”, which provide a hopping-off and on point for bedbugs between homes."
I hardly see this as bias. More like bad reporting and headline writing from people who didn't do any background research about the demographics of those who walk Caminos.The media had to qualify bedbugs with Christian pilgrims (as if they know the faith of the travelers...). Could they just have said 'pilgrims'? The bias against people of faith is disturbing.
I am afraid that newspaper and the truth are distant relatives that never meet.Christians are the only ones spreading bedbugs in the Camino?
I didn't know bedbugs discriminated
This might have been a good explanation if the reference to Christians had been in the headline, not the body of the report. The headline, presumably provided by a sub-editor, was neutral. The article wasn't. If they could do that, they could have replaced 'christian' with 'pilgrim' in the article, but didn't. Of course, that might just be carelessness. But carelessness or bias, it is still sloppy reporting on that count.I hardly see this as bias. More like bad reporting and headline writing from people who didn't do any background research about the demographics of those who walk Caminos.
I got bedbugs in Sept while in EstellaAfter the BBC website reporting on the great Parisian bedbug panic over the last few weeks, bedbugs on the Camino Portugues have now caught UK journalists' attention.
Article on the Telegraph website - not sure if you'll all be able to view as the Telegraph paywall can be finicky https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...-spain-hostel-camino-de-santiago-caldas-reis/
" Insects spread by those completing St James Way pilgrimage in northern Spain after initial outbreak in Paris
By James Badcock in Madrid 19 October 2023 • 3:06pm
Bedbugs have been spread by Christians undertaking the St James Way pilgrimage in Spain, forcing hostel owners to close or bring in exterminators.
Half a dozen hostels have been forced to temporarily close for fumigation in Caldas de Reis, en route to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela.
“Fumigation helps but this year we have seen an enormous number of pilgrims and what this means is that they transport the bugs from one place to another,” said Jesús Fariña, manager of the Doña Urraca hostel in the town.
A group of 43 pilgrims first sounded the alarm in August when they were forced to cancel their stay at a hostel in Ribadiso because of the volume of bedbugs they discovered.
The group was put up by the council in nearby Arzúa so participants could complete the final day of walking westward to Santiago.
A warm and long summer has been blamed for the outbreak, which has led many establishments to introduce new rules to prevent the insects spreading through travellers’ clothes and baggage.
“We don’t allow guests to take their rucksacks or boots into their rooms,” Mr Fariña told the newspaper El Periódico de España.
One hostel in Caldas de Reis is reported to have shut for a six-month refurbishment after fumigation failed to dislodge the bugs, typically hiding in cracks in the furniture or behind wooden fittings.
“The problem with bedbugs is that if they get into the wood, you have to take everything apart to get rid of the pests,” said Celestino Lores, from the Virxe Peregrina hostel in Pontevedra.
“We had to remove the skirting boards and window trim to eradicate them.”
Both Spain and France have received about 70 per cent more reports of infestations this year, compared with 2022.
Madrid council has said it is receiving a new report every day, but is confident the levels will not reach those of Paris because the city’s “subway seats are not made of cloth”, which provide a hopping-off and on point for bedbugs between homes."
In 2008 I was working in Beijing for NBC at the Summer Olympics. My colleagues in New York where being put up in high quality 4/5 Star hotels for the three months of the project. All of the hotels became infested with bed bugs.Me, I’m happy to see that the prevalence of bedbugs in gay Paris, liberal Lisbon, sanctified Santiago and every other spot where their hosts accumulate is finally getting some mainstream publicity. It really is time to stop blaming hospitalero/a, family run Hostales and the like and accept that the source of the scourge is “us”: every bedbugs favourite lunch (breakfast and supper) and us that are the vector not some lazy hospitality provider who couldn’t be bothered to get out the bug spray
A vacuous article in keeping with the journal.This might have been a good explanation if the reference to Christians had been in the headline, not the body of the report. The headline, presumably provided by a sub-editor, was neutral. The article wasn't. If they could do that, they could have replaced 'christian' with 'pilgrim' in the article, but didn't. Of course, that might just be carelessness. But carelessness or bias, it is still sloppy reporting on that count.
Not the UK ?? that is incorrect! I worked for several years with an international hotel group as Facilities Manager in London England.The article had two main points which had little to do with the Camino: first, that these bedbugs are a continuation of the pests afflicting Europe (but not the UK) and second, that they afflict only those Christians of the European persuasion headed to the shrine of Saint James (otherwise known as “Catholics” and not clean and kind UK CofE folks). Love the Brits but there is definitely a bias against the rest of Europe.
Possibly not, but it's the only tool I have other than inspecting the bed, so I'll continue to spray inside my backpack, my sleeping gear, and all my cloth stuff sacks on the theory that prolonged contact with those treated surfaces will eventually kill them and I won't be transporting bugs from place to place.Permethrin is a pyrethroid. So it makes you wonder if it's effective as I've been told to treat your clothing and backpack to prevent spread.
I took @Vacajoe's comments to be a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the focus of the article in the Telegraph.Not the UK ?? that is incorrect! I worked for several years with an international hotel group as Facilities Manager in London England.
I think over the years that the advice on this forum has pointed out the limitations of the various bed-bug treatments. How optimistic other sources might be about pyrethroids I cannot say, but you are right to be cautious. Nonetheless, of the treatments readily available for pilgrims, permethrin seems to me to be the most effective treatment available for our sleeping gear, packs, etc. Pyrethrin, a plant extract, might be the best alternative if you are prepared to carry enough so that you can re-apply it regularly.So it makes you wonder if it's effective as I've been told to treat your clothing and backpack to prevent spread.
Fortunately, I don't think they've developed a resistance to a good length of time in a dryer with high heat.Whatever the article said about Christians (which was just stupid), the point is that there are more bed bugs than there were 30 years ago when a resurgence started.
From Vox:
"Why bed bugs are surging now
There are some obvious reasons. More people live in cities now, and bedbugs love densely packed warm bodies. We’re also traveling more than ever before, giving bedbugs an opportunity to spread (see: horror stories of bedbugs in Airbnbs).
But the main reason why it’s boom time for bedbugs, according to the review, is that they’ve evolved resistance to many pesticides, our main line of defense. Indeed, these critters are now resistant to “most of the major classes of insecticides,” the review states, including pyrethroids, which is still one of the most commonly used insecticides. They’ve also developed resistance to DDT, which attacks insects in a similar way to pyrethroids."
Permethrin is a pyrethroid. So it makes you wonder if it's effective as I've been told to treat your clothing and backpack to prevent spread.
It’s not just Paris. There’s a "global resurgence" of bedbugs.
It’s a bedbug’s world now. We’re just sleeping in it.www.vox.com
I think that journal would take that as a compliment.I was a newspaper journalist for 22 years.
This kind of headline is what happens when newspaper bosses cut back on skilled copywriting staff.
Headlines in the Telegraph are (IMHO) written by the housekeepers.
My immediate thought, too.Christians are the only ones spreading bedbugs in the Camino?
I didn't know bedbugs discriminated
Well said. I saw a documentary on the Black death a couple of years ago and it raised the question of how it spread. There were of course the mad explanations of "vapors" etc but "the science" determined it was the fleas carried by rats. This documentary questioned the validity of that as rats do not typically travel miles and miles to other towns and villages. The answer of course was the vector in that case ( and most others) was people.Ah, c’mon, we’re talking the Telegraph here. It’s editorial policy has been biased against everybody who wasn’t a personal friend of the proprietors since Victoria fell off her perch - and the Rothermeres took that personally at the time.
Me, I’m happy to see that the prevalence of bedbugs in gay Paris, liberal Lisbon, sanctified Santiago and every other spot where their hosts accumulate is finally getting some mainstream publicity. It really is time to stop blaming hospitalero/a, family run Hostales and the like and accept that the source of the scourge is “us”: every bedbugs favourite lunch (breakfast and supper) and us that are the vector not some lazy hospitality provider who couldn’t be bothered to get out the bug spray
Yes, along with the rest of the human race.Could Christians indeed be a vector for bedbugs?
Accuracy and truth have often been the losers to hyperbole and sensationalism. Selling newspapers, advertising and providing the conduit of the views of owners and editors alike are the objective.Blimey, that must be the most nearly accurate headline the Torygraph has carried in years…
Agreed. Tho not sure what the P word means. I must be being slow!!!! I consume a lot of media worldwide and for UK media read every other media in the vast majority of the world. All sides of the political landscape and both tabloid and broadsheet. Was probably always that way sadly, but social media not offers an ‘opportunity’ to flush it out!! Point bring none seem much better or worse than others… we just view it on our personal beliefs!! The metrics have changed from circulation to clicks and engagement!Please do not let this thread drift into comment on the quality, or lack of it, of the UK’s print media, or the P word. You know what I mean and I am keeping a close eye on certain persons.
Rule 2, politics. Hard to discuss the media without getting political. As for the bedbug issue, the problem does seem to be getting worse. Of course it is the patrons of hotels etc who bring them in, and with a high turnover of patrons who bring their own bedding, albergues are especially vulnerable. Don’t just check the bed, look around as they live in the architecture.Agreed. Tho sure what the P word means. I must be being slow!!!! I consume a lot of media worldwide and for UK media read every other media in the vast majority of the world. All sides of the political landscape and both tabloid and broadsheet. Was probably always that way sadly, but social media not offers an ‘opportunity’ to flush it out!! Point bring none seem much better or worse than others… we just view it on our personal beliefs!! The metrics have changed from circulation to clicks and engagement!
Other news outlets are saying that these bed bugs are "French", which is of course another pet prejudice of the English supposed "Middle Class" ...This might have been a good explanation if the reference to Christians had been in the headline, not the body of the report. The headline, presumably provided by a sub-editor, was neutral. The article wasn't. If they could do that, they could have replaced 'christian' with 'pilgrim' in the article, but didn't.
Ah sorry! I was being very slow!!!Rule 2, politics. Hard to discuss the media without getting political. As for the bedbug issue, the problem does seem to be getting worse. Of course it is the patrons of hotels etc who bring them in, and with a high turnover of patrons who bring their own bedding, albergues are especially vulnerable. Don’t just check the bed, look around as they live in the architecture.
I have had multiple welts from chiggers after foraging for raspberries a few times. They take weeks to calm down and nearly a year for the scars to go away. Thankfully they are always beneath my clothing.Scars that I still have from insects are from flying ants near Lleida in 2021. They don't just bite you, they use acid ...
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