A bedbug infestation is spreading through various neighborhoods in Havana, where infested mattresses and sofas are appearing abandoned on street corners, and residents have started burning furniture in the middle of the street to prevent the insects from invading their homes, according to a report by the independent outlet 14ymedio.
The situation is not new in Cuba, but its arrival with this intensity in the capital is. Since 2023, the first outbreaks were recorded in Santiago de Cuba, where the authorities themselves admitted they lacked the resources to combat them. Then came Sancti Spíritus and Holguín, and now Havana faces what many residents describe as a silent invasion that moves from furniture to furniture, from building to building.
Gerardo, a 78-year-old resident of Lawton, states that he had never seen a bedbug until he discovered hundreds hidden in the seams of his sofa. "When I thought being without electricity, water, and connection would be the worst... today we found out we have bedbugs in the house. Bedbugs! The most horrible thing that could happen to us right now," he laments. He had to get rid of the sofa and his mattress, and he points to the accumulated waste in front of his building as the likely source of the infestation: "Apparently, they were the cause of the plague reaching our home."
In El Vedado, the local reaction was more drastic. Ana María describes how a group of residents set fire to a dumpster after throwing two infested mattresses in it: “People were afraid that the pests would get into their homes, so they set it on fire.” The toxic smoke from foam, fabrics, and plastic adds to the already deteriorated air of a city where burning garbage has become routine due to the collapse of waste collection.
Those seeking solutions find themselves in a dead end. An insecticide vendor at the Tulipán market admits that demand has skyrocketed, but his supply is insufficient: "These days, a lot of people have been asking if I have poison for bedbugs, but I only sell for ants and cockroaches." He adds the crux of the problem: "To get rid of that plague, a high level of hygiene is necessary, washing bedding at high temperatures, but here, almost no one can do that because when there’s no electricity, then there’s no water."
Structural conditions make it nearly impossible to halt the expansion. Since February 2026, only 44 of the 106 collection trucks in Havana have been operational due to a lack of diesel and mechanical deterioration, leaving up to 23,814 m³ of garbage uncollected daily. Power outages of up to 20 hours prevent washing clothes at temperatures that can destroy eggs and larvae, a key measure to eliminate the infestation. To make matters worse, Cuban studies have documented that local bedbug strains show high resistance to cypermethrin, the only insecticide available in the country, with resistance factors of up to 21.6.
The infestation had already impacted health centers and public services before. At the Maternal Hospital in Matanzas, a serious infestation was reported in June, putting pregnant women and newborns at risk. A mother from Bauta, in Artemisa, recounted that she had to burn her mattress after using cypermethrin with no results. In April, authorities in Antilla, Holguín, acknowledged that Cuba has been facing a nationwide infestation for at least two years that has affected hospitals, nursing homes, schools, hotels, and residences.
The Ministry of Public Health has not issued any official documented response to the crisis. Gerardo summarizes it bitterly: "Havana, the entire Island, is a vast dump."
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