Cue the nausea.
Orkin, the Atlanta-based pest control company, released its annual top 50 bed bug cities list and just the thought of the insects gets us itchy all over.
The ranking, which "is based on treatment data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatment from December 1, 2016 through November 30, 2017," takes into account both residential and commercial projects.
Before you start calling your friends in Baltimore, which tops the list for the second year in a row, and accuse them of unsanitary daily practices, you should know that the blood-sucking creatures are actually prone to infesting just about any space. "Any type of home is prone to bug bed bugs," explained Dr. Tim Husen, an entomologist at Orkin. "It has nothing to do with sanitation. We have treated for bed bugs everywhere, from newly built upscale homes to public housing."
Before browsing through the ranking, which we reproduce below, here are some interesting highlights from the study:
- Flint and New Orleans have made it to the ranking for the first time ever
- Orlando has fallen off the list this year
- Dallas-Forth Worth has made it to the top ten
Top 50 bed bug cities in the U.S.:
1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Columbus, OH
6. Cincinnati
7. Detroit
8. New York
9. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
10. Dallas-Fort Worth
11. Indianapolis
12. Philadelphia
13. Atlanta
14. Cleveland-Akron-Canton
15. Raleigh-Dunham
16. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
17. Houston
18. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA
19. Charlotte
20. Buffalo
21. Knoxville, TN
22. Nashville
23. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
24. Pittsburgh
25. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville, NC
26. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, IL
27. Phoenix
28. Denver
29. Milwaukee
30. Hartford-New Haven
31. Charleston-Huntington, WV
32. Boston
33. Syracuse
34. Dayton, OH
35. St. Louis
36. Seattle
37. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
38. Flint-Sagninaw-Bay City, MI
39. Omaha
40. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, IA
41. San Diego
42. Lexington
43. Honolulu
44. Louisville
45. Las Vegas
46. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC
47. New Orleans
48. Myrtle Beach-Florence
49. Tampa-St. Petersburg
50. Albany, Schenectady-Troy, NY