There is nothing new to report about bed bugs, as everyone knows that they are tiny, painful, itchy, annoying, hard to kill and well represented in every region of the world where insects can survive. Since the turn of the millennium, reports of bed bug infestations have been increasing at an alarming rate. In fact, bed bug populations are growing so quickly that pest control professionals cannot keep up with them. Basically, bed bugs are becoming harder to control as their population numbers and habitat ranges increase. However, if you want to avoid bed bugs, researchers have compiled a list of cities that see the greatest number of bed bug infestations. Most people probably assumed that bed bugs are most active in the southern region of America. This is a fair assumption, as insect activity tends to be particularly abundant in warmer climates than contain large amounts of vegetation. Also, southern US states see warmer year round temperatures, which means that bed bugs have more time to reproduce, and therefore their populations should be higher in the south. However, it is important to keep in mind that bed bugs are unique insects in that they are found in a multitude of different environments. Bed bugs are, surprisingly, just as common in mansions as they are in smaller homes. Perhaps more surprising is the fact that the cities infected with the most bed bugs are not at all what you would call “warm” cities.

For the second year in a row, researchers have determined that Baltimore is the most bed bug infested city, and it is followed closely by neighboring Washington DC. These two locations are not known for their yearlong warm weather, and neither is Chicago, which took third place. After Chicago, Los Angeles was named as the fourth most bed bug infested city, and two cities in the state of Ohio were named on the top ten. These cities are Columbus and Cincinnati. If you are planning on visiting any of these cities, you will want to give your hotel room a thorough check.

Do you live in a city that is on the list of the top ten cities infected with the most bed bugs?