Thanksgiving is approaching and Cleveland has been gifted with a title that residents aren’t very thankful for: the city with the worst bed bug problems.
The extermination company Terminix used service data from more than 300 branches across the country from October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2017 and identified 25 cities where residents had the highest number of bed-bug control services.
According to Terminix, Cleveland residents had the highest number of those services. Check out the list:
- Cleveland
- Philadelphia
- Los Angeles
- Indianapolis
- Cincinnati
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- New York
- Columbus, Ohio
- Houston
- Dayton, Ohio
- St. Louis
- Chicago
- Detroit
- Atlanta
- San Francisco
- Baltimore
- Tampa, Fla.
- Washington, D.C.
- Louisville, Ky.
- Phoenix
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Pittsburgh
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Boston
- Denver
This isn't the first time Cleveland has topped the list.
Terminix reported that this is the second consecutive year that Cleveland has been at the top of the list for worst bed bugs.
To make matters worse, three other Ohio cities made the list. Cincinnati was ranked fifth, Columbus was ranked eighth, and Dayton landed at number ten on the list of worst bed bug problems according to Terminix.
Cleveland residents shouldn’t be too concerned though, according to the extermination company Orkin, Cleveland doesn’t even make the top ten.
Orkin’s top 50 list of top bed bug cities was conducted in a similar manner, basing the results on treatment data from the metro areas where they performed the most bed bug treatments from December 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017. Orkin’s ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.
According to Orkin, Baltimore has the worst bed bug problems. Cleveland sits at 14th on the list.
While Cleveland did make the top of the list in past years, this year seems to be inconclusive.
RELATED: Cleveland makes top 10 of 2013 bed bug infestation list
Exterminators explain that bed bugs affect more than just bedding, and can easily hitchhike from place to place by crawling into personal belongings, such as jackets, purses, and luggage. Once they’ve entered a new space, they can spread quickly to upholstered furniture, in curtain rods and even behind baseboards.
If you do suspect you have a bed bug problem, experts advise you call a pest control professional, as bed bugs are notoriously difficult to eliminate.
