NEWS
This City is the Bed Bug Capital of the USA
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The nation’s capital may just have topped the list of the New York Times top 50 places to visit in 2020, but Washington DC also holds the more ubiquitous title of ‘Bed Bug Capital of the USA’ according to pest control company Orkin.
USA News & World Report reveals Orkin placed Washington DC at the top of the creepy-crawly list, beating out Baltimore – which had held the title for the previous three years.
According to a press release from Orkin, the list is based on data from the metro areas where the pest control company performed the most bed bug treatments from December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2019.
“While bed bugs have not been found to transmit any diseases to humans, they can be an elusive threat to households,” said Chelle Hartzer, an Orkin entomologist. “They are excellent hitchhikers, and they reproduce quickly which make it nearly impossible to prevent bed bugs. Sanitation has nothing to do with where you’ll find them.”
“Bed bugs, which are typically 4-5 mm in length and red to dark brown in color, can travel from place to place with ease, including luggage, purses and other belongings,” Orkin warns. “Normally nocturnal, bed bugs will come out of hiding to take blood meals from sleeping or quietly resting humans.”
The cities making the top ten list for 2020 are:
1. Washington DC
2. Baltimore
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Columbus, OH
6. New York
7. Detroit
8. Cincinnati
9. Indianapolis
10. Atlanta
