For the third year in a row, Baltimore tops the chart for having the highest number of cases of bedbugs, according to the latest annual list from Orkin, a nationwide pest management company. Its list is based on treatment data from Dec. 1, 2017, to Nov. 30, 2018, including both residential and commercial treatments.
“Bedbugs are the number one urban pest in many cities today,” says Chelle Hartzer, an Orkin entomologist. “They are master hitchhikers, so no one is immune. Sanitation has nothing to do with prevention: From public transit to five-star resorts, bedbugs have been and can be found everywhere humans are.”
Bedbugs—about the size of an apple seed and often with a reddish brown appearance—can attach to luggage, purses, backpacks, jackets, and other belongings. At night, these bloodsucking insects like to rest on humans. Bedbugs can multiply quickly.
Tips from Orkin:
The top three places pest professionals say they find bedbugs the most are in single-family homes (91%), apartments and condos (89%), and hotels and motels (68%). Hotels spend an average of $6,383 on rectifying a bedbug incident.
The following are the top places for bedbug infestations in 2018, according to Orkin:
1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. New York
7. Cincinnati
8. Detroit
9. Atlanta
10. Philadelphia
11. Cleveland-Akron
12. San Francisco
13. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
14. Indianapolis
15.
Spotting bedbugs at home
- Inspect a home thoroughly for any traces of bedbugs. Look for tiny, ink-colored stains that they can leave behind. The most common places they like to hide during the day: mattress tags and seams, behind baseboards, headboards, electrical outlets, and picture frames.
- Eliminate clutter around the home. It’ll make it easier to spot bedbugs.
- Inspect any secondhand furniture thoroughly before bringing it inside the home. “This is a common way for bedbugs to be introduced into homes,” according to Orkin.
- If they may be infested, be sure to dry bed linens, curtains, and stuffed animals on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabric.
