Mbare's growing bedbug crisis has sparked a wave of panic and disgust among dwellers at Matererini and Matapi Flats.
Following complaints from dwellers, the City of Harare Pest Control Section sprang into action to control the invasion of bloodsucking insects commonly known as "tsikidzi" or "insikizi", before it could spread and affect more areas.
Zimpapers Fact-Checking Desk examines the bedbug problem and its prevalence here and globally.
What are bedbugs?
Bedbugs are very small creatures - oval-shaped insects smaller than a grain of rice or an apple seed.
Public health experts say they are fast becoming a growing problem in most cities around the world.
Bedbugs are usually active during a five-hour period overnight -- between 12 am and 5 am.
The bugs move around during the night in search of a host and hone in on sleeping humans. They find us by sensing the carbon dioxide in our breath and our body heat, experts say.
How often do bedbugs bite?
Public health experts say during feeding, bedbugs probe the skin with their mouthparts, searching for blood-carrying capillaries.
If the bedbug does find a capillary with the first bite, victims can suffer several bites from the same bug during a feeding period.
Experts say feeding takes between five and ten minutes before the bug retires to a crack to digest its meal. It can take up to a week before it needs to feed again.
Why is the bed bug menace of concern to the public?
Bedbugs can be present in mattresses but also in clothes and luggage and come out at night to feed on human blood. They also often cause psychological distress, sleeping issues, anxiety, and depression, public health experts say.
Has the city of Harare been hit by an outbreak of bedbugs?
Yes, the City of Harare (CoH) confirmed an outbreak of bed bugs in Mbare's Matererini and Matapi Flats.
What action has been taken to control the infestation?
The City of Harare Pest Control Section started spraying at Mbare Matererini and Matapi Flats on Monday (April 7) this week.
The operation also targeted Magaba Flats. Said Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume: "This is not going to be a once-off job. We are putting in place a scheduled pest control programme across all affected suburbs, and Mbare is at the top of that list."
Is everyone safe from the scourge of bedbugs?
Public health experts say no one is safe. You can catch them anywhere and bring them home.
And if not detected on time, they can multiply and spread.
What makes the fight to control the pest problematic in Mbare?
Most people in Mbare are poor, and when confronted with the bedbug scourge, most low-income households cannot afford the high cost of private fumigation.
Furthermore, public health experts say bedbugs, which had largely disappeared from daily life in most parts of the world, have made a resurgence in recent decades and have become increasingly resistant to chemical treatments.
Is the bed bug crisis only peculiar to Zimbabwe alone?
No. Bedbugs cause hell for millions of families in various parts of the world - rich or poor. For example, the French national health and sanitary body, Anses, found that between 2017 and 2022, 11 percent of French homes had been infested.
In 2023, France's growing bedbug crisis sparked a political row with authorities grappling with the public health problem ahead of the hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Bedbugs have also terrified a number of countries in Asia, Europe, and the US, where surges in infestations of the pest stirred governments to action.
Why are bedbugs surging now?
There are many reasons for this. Public experts say rapid urbanisation in Africa and most parts of the world has seen more people living in cities. Bedbugs love overcrowding.
More people are also travelling more than ever before, giving bedbugs an opportunity to spread.
But the main reason why the world is experiencing a resurgence in bedbugs, public health experts say, is that they have evolved resistance to many pesticides.
Public health experts from across the world have repeatedly warned of increasing sightings of and growing concerns about bedbugs.
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They say the rise in bedbug infestations is commonly correlated with human travel, as the parasitic insects can hide in crevices like clothing and suitcases.
Bedbugs can be carried across borders by travellers. Experts have warned of a global resurgence of bedbugs over the last two decades, as the microscopic menaces have developed resistance to common insecticides.
This has made the bloodsucking insects multiply rapidly in their numbers through inbreeding.
How can bedbugs be controlled or avoided?
It can be hard to eradicate bedbugs, but cleanliness and immediately checking the mattress for reddish-brown blood stains are some of the useful tips.
You can also look for the bugs themselves, which are visible to the naked eye when they move around. Fumigation is one of the control measures for bedbugs.
But resistance to chemicals and mutation of the bugs will make it difficult to stem the bedbug crisis.
