(ORKIN)– Orkin has crunched the data on residential and commercial bed bug treatments performed in metro areas across the country to rank the top 50 cities with the highest bed bug concentrations.
Taking the top spot for the second year is the Charm City, Baltimore, Maryland. Included on the list for the first time are New Orleans and Flint, Michigan with Dallas-Fort Worth joining the top 10. And while the Big Apple, New York, fell four spots from our 2017 ranking, San Diego and Albany rejoin the community as prominent bed bug locales.
See the full rankings below:
1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles (+2)
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Cincinnati (+2)
7. Detroit
8. New York (-4)
9. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
10. Dallas-Fort Worth (+5)
11. Indianapolis
12. Philadelphia
13. Atlanta (+3)
14. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (-1)
15. Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (-3)
16. Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (-5)
17. Houston
18. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va. (+2)
19. Charlotte, N.C. (-3)
20. Buffalo, N.Y. (-2)
21. Knoxville, Tenn.
22. Nashville, Tenn. (+1)
23. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich. (+4)
24. Pittsburgh
25. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville, N.C.
26. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill. (+4)
27. Phoenix (-1)
28. Denver (-6)
29. Milwaukee
30. Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (+1)
31. Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. (+5)
32. Boston (-4)
33. Syracuse, N.Y. (+7)
34. Dayton, Ohio (-2)
35. St. Louis (+2)
36. Seattle (-2)
37. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (+9)
38. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, M.I. (new to list)
39. Omaha, N.E. (-6)
40. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa (-2)
41. San Diego (new to list)
42. Lexington, Ky. (+1)
43. Honolulu, Hawaii (+5)
44. Louisville, Ky. (-3)
45. Las Vegas (+4)
46. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, N.C. (-4)
47. New Orleans (new to list)
48. Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C. (-9)
49. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (-14)
50. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (new to list)
What Are Bed Bugs Anyway?
“Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” You’ve heard the adage, right? While this may seem cute, bed bugs are not the product of fairy tales and happy endings. No, these parasitic insects actually feed on blood from humans and warm-blooded animals to survive. Like ticks, bed bugs are flat, circular, and reddish-brown in color. They are also quite tiny which makes finding them even harder.
Where Do You Get Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs aren’t exclusive to where you lay your head to sleep. They can be found almost anywhere including offices, grocery stores, hotels, and gyms. They’re also pretty crafty and have been known to hide in luggage, clothing, and even on your body. They wait for the perfect chance to strike, often as you sleep, and can multiply quickly in optimal conditions.
How To Inspect For Bed Bugs
Avid travelers should be particularly cautious with bed bugs as they run the risk of spreading possible infestations to other locations. Here’s what to do:
- When checking into a hotel, place your luggage in the bathtub. Bed bugs can’t climb smooth surfaces.
- Inspect your room for small black or brown spots. These signs can be dead bed bug casings, live insects, or droppings. A flashlight or even your mobile phone’s screen is helpful to spotting bed bug activity on furniture, linens, and most importantly, your mattress.
- If all is clear, remove your luggage from the bathtub, but continue to keep it elevated off the floor in case anything was missed.
- After waking up, recheck your sheets and pillowcase to ensure no bed bugs snuck in.
- Lastly, when returning home inspect your luggage again and place your clothes in the dryer on high heat for at least 15 minutes.
How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?
Once inside your home, it can be difficult to control a bed bug infestation. Contact your local Orkin professional to schedule an inspection and customize a plan that’s right for you. Using our integrated A.IM. protection approach to Assess your home, Implement solutions, and Monitor future problems, bed bugs won’t know what hit them.
