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Hotels in France turn to tech as bedbug outbreaks rise法国酒店求助于科技应对臭虫危机

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Hotels in France turn to tech as bedbug outbreaks rise 法国酒店求助于科技应对臭虫危机

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These bedbugs are walking into a trap. This box contains a pheromone that attracts them. Devices like these are typically put inside beds or seats and connected to the internet to send live images of captured bugs.

这些臭虫浑然不知自己正在爬进一个陷阱。这个盒状装置里有一种能吸引臭虫的信息素。这类装置通常被放在床垫或椅垫下，并可以连接上互联网，以发送捕捉到的虫子的实时图像。

AI software, trained with help by the human eye, can then confirm if the creatures are actually bedbugs. A positive identification triggers a mobile phone alert to be sent out.

人工智能软件在人眼的训练和引导下可以确认捕捉到的生物是否是臭虫。一旦确认是臭虫，手机警报功能就会被触发。

And pest control measures can then be taken before the bugs multiply.

收到警报后便可以在臭虫大量繁殖前采取害虫防治措施。

The HQ of the company behind this tech is in Cambridge in the south of England.

研发这项技术的公司总部位于英格兰南部的剑桥。

Robert Fryers, CEO of Spotta
"And they act as an early warning system. It's effectively like a Covid test. So, you're doing the measuring to tell you where to go in and then treat. Because of that you can catch them much earlier, before they spread. We've monitored around a million hotel nights now, and there has been a consistent rise this year. So, before Covid, there'd been a long-term trend upwards over the last decade. It dropped back a bit when everyone stopped travelling. But this year it really has come back with a vengeance."

罗伯特·弗莱尔斯       Spotta 公司首席执行官
“这些装置就是一种预警系统。就像新冠肺炎病毒检测一样可以起到防控作用。通过监测，这个系统可以告诉你臭虫所在的准确位置，以助除虫。正因有了这个预警系统，你才能更早地捉住臭虫，以防止它们大量繁殖。我们监测的时长累积已有100万个房晚，今年发现的臭虫数量持续上升。在新冠肺炎疫情前的十年间，臭虫数量呈长期上升的趋势。在人们停止出游的那段时间里，臭虫数量有所下降。但今年，臭虫数量开始激增。”

But this system isn't the only one. Other companies have integrated traps into the feet of beds. And some even use trained sniffer dogs to find bedbugs.

但这个系统并不是唯一一个用于防臭虫的手段。其它公司使用在床脚上安装的防虫陷阱装置。还有一些公司甚至用经过训练的嗅探犬来寻找臭虫。

Many French hotels are now investing in this kind of technology.

许多法国酒店现在都在购买防虫技术。

Max Malka, Co-owner of Montlhery Paris Sud Hotel
"I'm an owner of a hotel about 15km south of Paris. In Paris, hotels are hit by bedbugs at least once a year. About two weeks ago, we had a detection of the bedbug, and I want to tell you, it's frightening. The reason we invested into this technology is first a service to the customer, second the reputation of the hotel, and third, this will eliminate the risk of someone suing us because he or she [was] bitten."

马克斯·马尔卡       法国蒙特里酒店共同所有人
“我是巴黎以南约15公里处一家酒店的老板。在巴黎，酒店每年至少会遭受一次臭虫入侵。大约两周前，我们的酒店内发现了臭虫，说实话，这很可怕。我们购买这种监测装置的原因首先是服务顾客，其次是维护酒店的声誉，再其次是消除顾客因被臭虫咬而起诉我们的风险。”

The rising prominence of bedbugs in the news and on social media has generated a new interest in this niche industry.

人们在资讯和社交媒体平台上对臭虫的热议引发了大家对害虫防治这个小众行业的兴趣。