Pest control experts have warned bed bugs are becoming a growing problem in Dublin hotels , hostels and apartment buildings.

A small number of students at Trinity College Dublin have been forced to leave their campus accommodation after bed bugs took up residence in their apartments.

The college has relocated eight students from two apartments at Goldsmith Hall - at the junction of Westland Row and Pearse Street - to other accommodtion in recent days.

A spokeswoman for Trinity confirmed the college was tackling a bed bug issue and pest-control experts have since been called in to tackle the problem.

She said the students should be able to return to their accommodation by Christmas.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects - about the size of an apple pip - which feed on blood and can easily spread througout hotels, domitories and apartment buildings.

They do not spread disease but they can bite repeatedly and cause irritation to the skin.

Trevor Hayden, managing director of Complete Pest Control, said bed bugs are a growing problem in the Dublin area due possibly to increased air travel and tourism.

“We’re getting a lot of calls from hotels and hostels but also individuals who’ve come back from holidays and realised they’ve brought them home in their luggage,” he said.

“They are no indication of whether a house or hotel is clean or dirty: bed bugs are as happy to live in a five-star hotel or a hovel.”

Nevertheless, Mr Hayden said there is still a stigma around the problem.

“People are more likely to admit to having a rat infestation than having a bed bug problem.”.