Local authorities in Queensland, Australia, are developing emergency plans to combat an epidemic of bed bugs in local hostels, amid fears they may eat into the tourist trade.

The bugs can survive for months without food and have been hitching rides in backpackers’ luggage and going on their own voyages of discovery, often ending up in and around Australia’s famous Bondi Beach.

A recent report commissioned by Sydney City Council found that eight out of ten backpacker hostels in the city’s eastern suburbs were infested with bed bugs.

Don’t let the bed bugs bite, continued