Bedbugs have apparently taken up a long-term residency in Chicago based on a new report from pest control company Orkin.
Chicago topped Orkin’s “Top 50 Bed Bug Cities” list for the fourth year in a row. In all, fourteen cities in the Midwest made the list, more than any other region, according to Orkin. The pests were spotted in multiple cities in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky.
Orkin based its findings on the number of bedbug treatments employees conducted between January and December of 2015, according to the pest control company. The list includes both residential and commercial treatments.
Orkin Entomologist Ron Harrison called bedbugs “the great hitchhikers of the bug world” in a news release issued by the company. “Bed bugs can travel in luggage and other personal belongings to enter your home,” Harrison wrote. “They don’t just hide in beds – they can be found in furniture, bed posts, rugs and even electrical outlets.”
Bedbugs are not known to spread human diseases, according to Orkin. Some people have no reaction to bites, but others could experience itchy red welts and swelling.
While Chicago remained numbed one on the bedbug list, several other cities made double-digit jumps. Washington D.C. leapt 11 spots higher than last year, coming in third behind Los Angeles. However, several cities dropped further down the list this year, including the Champaign-Springfield-Decatur area, which fell four spots to number 42.
Here is the complete list of the top bedbug cities, according to Orkin:
1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles (+2)
3. Washington, D.C. (+11)
4. New York (+14)
5. Columbus, Ohio (-2)
6. Philadelphia
7. Detroit (-5)
8. Cincinnati (-1)
9. Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
10. Baltimore (+21)
11. Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (+6)
12. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (-7)
13. Dallas-Ft. Worth (-7)
14. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (+2)
15. Indianapolis (-4)
16. Charlotte, N.C. (+14)
17. Houston (-5)
18. Denver (-10)
19. Atlanta (+6)
20. Buffalo, N.Y. (+6)
21. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville, N.C. (+26)
22. Nashville, Tenn. (+1)
23. Phoenix (+9)
24. Knoxville, Tenn. (+10)
25. Boston-Manchester (+4)
26. Milwaukee (-11)
27. Dayton, Ohio (-17)
28. Seattle (-15)
29. Pittsburgh
30. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va.
31. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
32. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Crk., Mich. (-12)
33. Lexington, Ky. (-9)
34. Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (+3)
35. Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. (-16)
36. Omaha, Neb. (-15)
37. San Diego (+2)
38. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.
39. Louisville, Ky. (-17)
40. St. Louis (+6)
41. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa (-6)
42. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill. (-4)
43. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (-10)
44. Kansas City, Mo. (-3)
45. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif. (-18)
46. Syracuse, N.Y. (-18)
47. Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo. (-3)
48. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (-5)
49. Honolulu (-7)
50. Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C. (-5)
