New York Among Worst U.S. Cities For Bedbugs, Study Finds

NEW YORK CITY — The Big Apple is crawling with bedbugs. New York City ranks among the top 10 in a new list of the nation's most infested cities.

The city came in sixth in extermination company Orkin's ranking of the top 50 U.S. cities where they performed the most bed bug treatments in 2019, released last week.

“They can be an elusive threat to households,” Orkin entomologist Chelle Hartzer warned about the insects. “They are excellent hitchhiker and they reproduce quickly which make it nearly impossible to prevent bed bugs.”

The list is based on treatment data from the metro areas where the company performed the most residential and commercial bed bug treatments from Dec. 1, 2018 to Nov. 1, 2019, the company said.

New York held its No. 6 spot for the second year running while Washington D.C. leapt up to claim first place from Baltimore, Orkin said.

In third is Chicago, then Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio.

Bed bugs usually come out at night to snack on the blood of sleeping or resting humans, Orkin says. Their bites are itchy and annoying but the bugs aren't known to spread disease, according to the city's Department of Health.

They're always moving and easily latch onto belongings such as backpacks, purses, luggage and jackets, according to Orkin.

Getting rid of bed bugs can be tough because they reproduce quickly — an adult female can lay two to five eggs a day, according to Orkin. The Health Department offers a guide to dealing with bed bugs here.

These are the nation's top 10 cities for bed bugs, according to Orkin. See the full top 50 list here.

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Baltimore
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles
5. Columbus, OH
6. New York
7. Detroit
8. Cincinnati
9. Indianapolis
10. Atlanta