Terminix has just released its annual list of the top 15 U.S. cities most infested with bedbugs, determined by the most S.O.S. phone calls the company receives about the stealthy blood-suckers. And the winning city for most bedbugs in 2015 goes to… (drumroll) … Detroit! Ohio wins for the state on the list with the most bedbug infested cities (five!).
The rest of the list:
Philadelphia, MI
Cleveland-Akron, OH
Los Angeles, CA
Dayton, OH
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Cincinnati, OH
Dallas-Forth Worth, TX
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
Denver, CO
Toledo, OH
Oklahoma City, OK
Baltimore, MD
New York, NY
No need for hysterics, but if traveling to one of these cities (or any city for that matter!) check out today’s Surefire Way to Spot Bedbugs in the Huffington Post. Their tips include:
1. Setting your luggage down in the bathroom (unless your room has tile flooring)
2. Pulling the bed sheets off the mattress
3. Using your flashlight app on your smartphone to inspect the mattress – including the seams – for bugs as well as small dark blood stains (from the bug’s excrement, if you must know)
4. Inspect the furniture and wall art
A little know-how in spotting these luggage-hopping pests might save you a call to your local bug buster and possibly months of your life trying to eradicate them.