Local transport officials have denied claims that trams and buses are responsible for the spike in bedbugs in Krakow, amid fears that the city is facing a plague of unwanted critters.
The denial comes after Magdalena Mazurkiewicz, a councilor from the Nowa Huta district, said that worried residents said they suspected that bedbugs had been transferred to their homes via trams and buses.
In an appeal to the city’s mayor, she wrote: “I kindly ask you to take immediate action in connection with this problem that has affected the residents of Nowa Huta and beyond and has become a cause for serious concerns about hygiene and public health.”
But fears that the bedbugs are due to infestations on public transport have been strenuously denied by MPK Krakow, the authority in charge of the city’s transport network.
MPK’s spokesman, Marek Gancarczyk, said that public transport vehicles are washed and swept daily and are deep cleaned with disinfectant once a month. “I think the problem lies somewhere else,” he said, adding that no bedbugs had ever been reported on the transport network.
According to one local pest control firm, cases of infestation in Nowa Huta have soared by 50% since last year.
In an appeal to the city’s mayor, she wrote: “I kindly ask you to take immediate action in connection with this problem that has affected the residents of Nowa Huta and beyond and has become a cause for serious concerns about hygiene and public health.”
But fears that the bedbugs are due to infestations on public transport have been strenuously denied by MPK Krakow, the authority in charge of the city’s transport network.
MPK’s spokesman, Marek Gancarczyk, said that public transport vehicles are washed and swept daily and are deep cleaned with disinfectant once a month. “I think the problem lies somewhere else,” he said, adding that no bedbugs had ever been reported on the transport network.
According to one local pest control firm, cases of infestation in Nowa Huta have soared by 50% since last year.
Speaking to Gazeta Wyborcza, Andrzej Trątnowiecki of Insekt Serwis said that bedbugs had found ideal living conditions in the area’s older housing estates.
“Additionally, we’ve had a very hot summer that has allowed the insects to develop faster, and people are more willing to travel [than ever before] and have bought back unwanted souvenirs from these trips,” he said.
With disinfection services ranging from between 800 and 1,000 złotys, Trątnowiecki says many people have decided to use home remedies to rid themselves of the bugs.
“And this,” he added, “is doomed to failure from the start—I don’t know if anyone has ever succeeded by doing that.”
“Additionally, we’ve had a very hot summer that has allowed the insects to develop faster, and people are more willing to travel [than ever before] and have bought back unwanted souvenirs from these trips,” he said.
With disinfection services ranging from between 800 and 1,000 złotys, Trątnowiecki says many people have decided to use home remedies to rid themselves of the bugs.
“And this,” he added, “is doomed to failure from the start—I don’t know if anyone has ever succeeded by doing that.”
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