We're Not #1! New York 7th Worst City For Bed Bugs

[UPDATE BELOW] The city's bed bug epidemic has been getting pretty out of hand, with the critters crawling all the way into the Empire State Building to assert their control. But we can sleep easy (or maybe with just one eye open) with the knowledge that we're not actually the most infested city in America. That honor goes to Cincinnati. In fact, according to data from Orkin, Ohio seems to be the most infested state, with Cincinnati and Columbus taking the top two spots. Here are the top 10:

Cincinnati, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Chicago, Illinois

Denver, Colorado

Detroit, Michigan

Washington, DC

New York, New York

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dayton, Ohio

Baltimore, Maryland

The east coast doesn't even show up until #6! However, the data was taken from Orkin's treatments over the past 30 months, so it doesn't take into account people who have used other services or have tried to get rid of the bastards themselves. And this still doesn't leave us any closer to getting rid of them for good. We're guessing telling the bed bugs to go back to Ohio won't work on them either. [Via The Daily Beast]

[UPDATE] We are #1? According to competing pest-control company Terminix's data, New York is the most bed bug infested city in the country, though they still agree Ohio is the most infested state. Paul Curtis, entomologist for Terminix, cited increased international travel as a cause, and said, ''It’s no surprise that highly trafficked cities such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are on the list." None of the data takes into account people who haven't reported bed bug problems, or data from competing pest-control companies, so why don't we just average the two and say New York is the third or fourth worst off city?

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By Jaya Saxena in News on August 24, 2010 3:27 PM

Comments [rss]

John L

And Bloomberg still characteristically quiet on an issue affecting so many New Yorkers.

Reflect

Raid doesnt even work for roaches.. The fat bastard that came up with that stuff is keeping quiet.. See there is store grade, for the dumb and inept.. An then there is commercial grade for business because lets face it we value our business more than our homes here sadly..

Maxforce roach gel works as well as raid should but half cures are billondollar see-ya-in-afew-months industry.

Im hoping a previous friend, who thought i made sucha big deal has them now.

just saying

I gotta question the methodology in arriving at the conclusion that those cities are the most bedbug infested. Those cities are actually the ones that have contacted Orkin most frequently with requests for bedbug removal. And that could mean the residents of those cities are just more inclined to call an exterminator at the first sign of a problem.

You have to wonder how many people in NYC still think spraying Raid eradicates bedbugs. Last week there was a newscaster interviewing people in line for tickets outside a movie theater that has/had(?) bedbugs. One guy said he wasn't worried about bedbugs because he could just brush them off his clothes when he leaves the theater! Clueless.

In a densely populated and filthy city like NYC along with a mass transportation system used by most, the possibilities are ideal for spreading bedbug infestation.

just saying

Now according to Gothamist's update, Terminix claims that based on their data, the #1 bedbug-infested U.S. city is New York City. Philadelphia is #2 on the list followed by Detroit. That sounds about right to me.

lalalaland macnoofy

It's well known that every hipster in NYC came from Ohio initially, but my own research indicates our bedbug problem came from eastern european models who flooded the city in the early 2000's and shacked up 8 to a room.

Perhaps the models infested the hipsters at certain loft parties, and the Great Recession, which caused many a freelance hipster to return to parental spread, opened a silk road for bedbugs?

exnyer

NY Bloomy`s goal is to be #1 at everything.......now get busy spreading them bugs around. I hope we retained the #1 spot for roaches, better check that out.