Going to bed like you do every night and waking up with welts on your body isn’t something that anyone wants, but it’s something that happens due to some nasty pests, especially in these 11 worst cities for bedbugs in America.
Bedbugs aren’t exactly new in the world, and they have a history going back thousands of years. These nasty insects have a habit of feeding on humans while infesting their beds, hence the name. For a while, starting after the Second World War, bedbugs were nearly eradicated in developed countries thanks to newly developed pest control products. The fact that vacuums and washing machines were beginning to be more and more used was also useful to fix the situation.
Perhaps the worst part about bedbugs is the fact that even if your home is free of them and you go to a hotel or someone else’s home, where they’re a problem, you’re likely to have them tag along and infest your own space too.
Frankly, just thinking about this gives me phantom itches. But we need to move forward with how to figure out if you have a problem. Well, first of all, you might notice small red or brown fecal spots on your mattress, walls, and upholstery, as well as shed skin, bug eggs or empty eggshells. Basically, everything that nightmares are made of. Since this also has to be mentioned, we’re going to throw in there the fact that red bite marks might appear on your body, giving away the presence of the bedbugs. And, if you were wondering, they’re going to itch.
Getting rid of these nasty fellows isn’t impossible, but it is a lengthy process, especially since they’re so hard to spot. The best solution, and the easiest at the same time is simply to call professionals to deal with them for you. Alternatively, you can use heat treatments for bedbugs, using steam on your items, and so on. Professionals may even smoke up your room.
When traveling you should take care to check whether there are any signs of infestation, including if the sanitization of the room is up to par. The best places to look is under the mattress, box spring, in the sheets or furniture. Your luggage should be checked and double checked and the clothes washed at high temperatures in case you noticed any bedbugs.
If you’re interested, you could also check out which are the 11 worst countries for a woman to live in, especially when considering traveling spots.
In order to create this list we took a look at the 2015 Bed Bug Cities List published by Orkin, a top pest control company. Without further ado, here are the 11 worst cities for bedbugs in America.
11. Raleigh – Durham, North Carolina
Compared to 2014, Raleigh climbed six spots, indicating an increase in the bedbug problem the city has.
10. Baltimore, Maryland
One of the steepest climbs on the chart no city wants to be on was Baltimore’s who’s up 21 spots compared to the previous year.
9. Richmond – Petersburg, Virginia
The situation isn’t any better or any worse than the previous year, but things aren’t all that great either considering just how high up the city is on this list.
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
Things seem to be going slightly better in this Ohio city as Cincinnati dropped one spot compared to last year’s chart, ending up at number 8.
Adam Cuerden
7. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is also making headway in its program to fight bedbugs as the city is now five spots lower than it was the previous year, landing on number seven.
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
After taking a break from this chart for the past four years, Philadelphia made a comeback straight at number six. Hopefully, in the near future we’ll be talking about an improvement in the situation in this city.
5. Columbus, Ohio
Dropping two spots from last year’s chart, Columbus is doing a bit better considering the size of the battle it engaged in.
Mohamedhp
4. New York City, New York
Another city that managed a massive climb in this list of worst cities for bedbugs in America that no one wants to top is New York who is up 14 spots from last year’s results.
3. Washington, D.C.
Washington’s problem with bedbugs seems to be climbing as the city is now 11 spots higher than it used to be.
2. Los Angeles, California
L.A. may be the “city of dreams” for many, but it’s also the “city of bedbugs” it seems, as it climbed two spots from 2014.
1. Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the leading city on this list for the fourth year in a row, a feat that’s not exactly worthy of applause. Instead, the city might want to finally take some proper measures to keep this infestation under control. Either way, Chicago is once more at the top of the list of the 11 worst cities for bedbugs in America.
