Although fewer people traveled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bed bugs couldn’t get the memo to stay at home.
Chicago topped Orkin’s Top 50 Bed Bug Cities List for last year, with Baltimore and Washington, DC ranked second and third.
Orkin said it based its list on treatment data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatments from December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2020. The ranking includes both inpatient and commercial treatments.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has two cities in the top 20 – Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Philadelphia lost two places from last year, so that’s good news.
Here are the rankings after Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, DC:
4. Detroit
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Cleveland, Ohio
7. Indianapolis
8. Cincinnati
9. Los Angeles
10. Grand Rapids, Mich.
11. Charlotte, NC
12. New York City
13. Atlanta
14. Philadelphia
15. Champagne, Ill.
16. Dallas
17. Raleigh, NC
18. Charleston, W.Va.
19. Pittsburgh
20. Denver
According to Orkin, the bed bugs are still lurking, waiting for people to resume their journey.
“It’s easy to forget that bed bugs are still a major threat and should be a priority for anyone interested in an outing. Bed bugs can survive for several months while waiting for their next blood meal. So they are likely to occur when a source of food, humans, becomes available, ”Orkin said.
“Typically bed bugs are 3 to 16 inches long and are mostly nocturnal insects that come out of hiding to take blood meals from sleeping people and are red to dark brown in color. Bed bugs are hematophagous, which means that blood is their only source of food. You can travel from place to place with ease, including luggage, wallets and other personal effects. “
Orkin recommends these steps for examining bed bugs under the acronym SLEEP
- Examine the room for signs of infestation. Look for tiny, black, ink-colored stains on mattress seams, in soft furniture, and behind headboards. You can even hide in power outlets and picture frames.
- Lift up the hiding places of the bed bugs and look inside: the mattress, box spring bed, and other furniture, as well as behind baseboards, pictures, and even torn wallpaper.
- Lift the luggage off the bed and away from the wall. The safest places are in the bathroom or on counters.
- Carefully examine your luggage while you are repacking it and when you return home from a trip. Always keep your luggage away from the bed. Also, double-check all used furniture and clothing before bringing them to your home, and double-check after guests visit.
- After you return home, place any tumble dryer-safe clothes in your luggage on the highest setting for at least 45 minutes.
Here is the rest of the list:
21. Flint, Me.
22. San Francisco
23. Greenville, SC
24. Norfolk
25. St. Louis
26. Richmond, Va.
27. Toledo, Ohio
28. Dayton, Ohio
29. Buffalo, NY
30. Omaha, Neb.
31. Nashville
32. Milwaukee
33. Fort Wayne, Ind.
34. Greensboro, NC
35. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
36. Knoxville, Tenn.
37. Houston
38. Davenport, Iowa
39. Tampa
40. Youngstown, Ohio
41. South Bend, Ind.
42. Phoenix
43. Lexington, Ky.
44. Seattle
45. Orlando
46. Louisville
47. Miami
48. Lansing
49. Peoria-Bloomington
50. Minneapolis-St. Paul
CONTINUE READING
- The police want to find someone at the Walmart store who released bed bugs.
