Orkin report shows Atlanta bed bugs creeping up in national rankings
Atlanta-based pest control services company Orkin released its latest ranking of the top 50 U.S. cities with the most bed bug infestations and bugs are still biting hard in Atlanta.
The metro ranked No. 16 on the list, jumping ahead three spots from last year’s report.
To come up with the ranking, Orkin analysts examined treatment data (both residential and commercial) from the metro areas where they performed the most bed bug treatments from Dec. 1, 2015 through Nov. 30, 2016.
"We have more people affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before," said Ron Harrison, Orkin entomologist and director of technical services. "They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago," he said.
The report’s top city with the most bed bug infestations is Baltimore, Maryland. It’s the first time the city has made the top five, moving up nine spots since last year.
Here are the top 50 cities with the most bed bug infestations, according to Orkin:
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago, Illinois
- New York, New York
- Columbus, Ohio
- Los Angeles, California
- Detroit, Michigan
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California
- Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia
- Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
- Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Houston, Texas
- Buffalo, New York
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Virginia
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Denver, Colorado
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina-Asheville, North Carolina
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Illinois
- Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut
- Dayton, Ohio
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Seattle-Tacoma, Washington
- Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida
- Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa
- Myrtle Beach-Florence, South Carolina
- Syracuse, New York
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, North Carolina
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Florida
- Kansas City, Montana
- Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Portland, Oregon
At Home:
- Inspect your home for signs of bed bugs regularly. Check locations where bed bugs hide during the day, including mattress seams and behind baseboards, headboards, electrical outlets and picture frames. "I like to inspect every week when I change the sheets to make sure I don't have a visitor," Harrison says.
- Decrease clutter around your home to make bed bug inspections and detection much easier.
- Inspect all secondhand furniture before bringing it inside your home.
- Dry potentially infested bed linens, curtains and stuffed animals on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabric.
During travel, remember the acronym S.L.E.E.P to inspect for bed bugs:
- Survey the hotel room for signs of an infestation. Look for black or brown spots on any furniture.
- Lift and look in bed bug hiding spots: the mattress, box spring, bedskirt and other furniture, as well as behind baseboards, pictures and even torn wallpaper.
- Elevate luggage away from the bed and wall. The safest place is in the bathroom.
- Examine your luggage while repacking and once you return home from a trip.
- Place all dryer-safe clothing from your luggage in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at the highest setting after you return home.
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