The top 10 cities after Baltimore and Washington include:
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Cincinnati
7. Detroit
8. New York
9. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
10. Dallas-Fort Worth
Among the highlights for this year’s list, according to Orkin, is that New Orleans and Flint joined the list for “the first time ever.” And Orlando has “fallen off the list.” Congrats!
Orkin said the list is based on its “treatment data” for the cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas. It looks at where the company did the “most bedbug treatments from Dec. 1, 2016, through Nov. 30, 2017, for both residential and commercial properties. And voilà!
Tim Husen, an Orkin entomologist, said in a company news release that the “number of bedbug infestations in the United States is still rising.”
He said they’re not seasonal pests and “only need blood to survive.”
Bedbugs, Orkin said, easily travel from luggage, clothing and other items. And Orkin notes that “they can be found anywhere people are — from upscale homes and hotels to schools and EMS vehicles to low-income housing.”
Their advice is to treat for them quickly.