Bed bugs have long been the bane of an international traveller's existence, but apparently there's been a huge explosion of infestations in Ireland in the last year.

According to pest control company Rentakil Ireland, there's been a whopping increase of 80% in the amount of call outs by them in the last year to deal with the nighttime nuisance.

While this is a nationwide phenomenon, the counties to be worst hit by infestations are Dublin and Kerry, seeing increases of 60.7% and 10% respectively. Hotels and B&Bs were the worst affected.

The irritating insects spread easily and are difficult to treat, resulting in rapid growth in the number of bed bug outbreaks. They're known to terrorise sleepers by leaving them covered in bites.

Dr. Colm Moore, Area Technical Manager at Rentakil UK, Ireland and the Baltics, said,

Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not a sign of poor hygiene, they’re simply a pest that can be inadvertently introduced anywhere that has a regular turnover of people and luggage. The most common places to pick up bed bugs, therefore, are hotels and B&Bs.

Moore recommends the taking of precautionary steps to prevent the spread of bed bugs, such as checking the head and foot of your bed for signs of infestation, keeping an eye out for living or dead insects between 2mm and 5mm long, and, if you've just come home from travelling, wash and tumble dry your clothes as soon as possible. 

READ NEXT: Why You Can’t Have Maltesers On Your Porridge – Even ‘If It Fits Your Macros’