Bedbugs! 15 Worst Cities

Traveling across this great nation any time soon? You might want to think about the bedbug situation. According to experts, many of our cities are experiencing a huge surge in the blood suckers. Pest control company Terminix put together a list of the 15 worst hit cities as determined by call volume to their offices. Sleep tight.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

15: Minneapolis, Minn.

Stone Arch bridge over Mississippi in Minneapolis. — istockphoto

Minneapolis may be the city of lakes, but it's swimming in bedbugs.

A January report from the Star Tribune says the city is buying up industrial-sized heat machines to blast the bugs out of its housing projects.

"People had been in the pest control business for 30 or 40 years and had never seen a bedbug, Greg Grabow, a sales rep for Thermal Remediation, the company that makes the machines, told the paper, "Now they're everywhere."

That's enough to grab the city the 15 spot.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

14: Cleveland

Sure, Cleveland houses the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Terminix says the city is now getting rocked by bedbugs.

Rick Novickis, supervisor of environmental health services for the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, told Fox station WJW-TV that "bed bugs are double what they were last year."

Perhaps that's why the city has earned a proud place at number 14 on the list.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

13: Louisville, Ky.

Kentucky's biggest city has a big problem - and it's crawling on six legs. And according to one local new report, state agencies feel helpless against it.

"We won't be able to stop bedbugs in Kentucky just like the rest of the country won't be able to," Guy Delius, director of Kentucky's public health protection and safety agency, told WLKY.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

12: Indianapolis

Indianapolis may be home to the Indy 500, but it is bedbugs that are racing into the city's sheets.

"They're here. They're here to stay. They're going to be transferred anywhere humans are," local exterminator Elia Levin exclaimed to local station WTHR.

In June, a coalition of education and health officials met to plan against a feared attack of the six-legged beasties in the public school system, according to TV station WXIN.

So far, so good, they said.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

11: Boston

Paul Revere statue in Boston Freedom Trail, a national landmark and major tourist attraction. Old North Church steeple in the back. — Jorge Salcedo

Perhaps Bean Town should be called Bug Town.

According to the Boston Herald, the nasty critters have invaded the city's most posh suburbs and the area's elite are trying to keep it hush-hush.

"Cleanup crews are instructed to show up in unmarked vans at off-peak hours," the paper reports.

Well, the secret's out now. Boston came in 11 on the list.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

10: Los Angeles

Ordinarily, Los Angeles might happy to edge out perennial rival Boston. Only this time it's not the Lakers vs. the Celtics. It's blood-sucking bedbugs. LA comes in at number nine on the list of bedbug-infested cities, just one ahead of Boston. Talk about bad blood.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

9: Washington, D.C.

Republicans and Democrats might not agree on much, but they probably agree that bedbugs should have no place in the nation's capital. Too bad Washington, D.C. comes in number nine on the list of bedbug-infested cities.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

8: Dayton, Ohio

Residents of Dayton had better get used to all the bedbugs showing up in their community. "They are going to be here awhile until we learn how to control them," Montgomery County's director of environmental health, Mark Case, told the Dayton Daily News.

Dayton comes in number eight on the list of most bedbug-infested cities.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

7: Columbus, Ohio

Planning a stay in Columbus? You can find gorillas, leopards, and Siberian tigers at the Columbus Zoo. No telling where you might see bedbugs. Recent infestations of the insects put Columbus number seven on the list of most bedbug-infested cities.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

6: Denver

Union Station in Denver, Colorado. — istockphoto

What's up in the Mile High City? The number of people calling exterminators about bedbugs. Instead of five to 10 calls a month, one local pest control expert said he was getting hundreds of calls, reported KWGN TV in Denver.

The bloodsuckers have made appearances at dozens of movie theaters and hotels, as well as many homes and apartment buildings.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

5: Chicago

Bedbugs are making a comeback across Illinois, and Chicago is ground zero.

The state's public health director, Dr. Damon T. Arnold, is urging citizens to learn more about how the bugs operate. "To help reduce this problem, I encourage everyone to learn the signs of bed bug infestations, how the bugs spread, what you can do to prevent getting them and what to do if you find bed bugs," he said in a written statement.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

4: Cincinnati, Ohio

Ohio is crawling with bedbugs. Four cities in the Buckeye state showing up on the list of most bedbug-infested cities, and Cincinnati tops the list. The city's public library is among places where the bugs have been spotted, according to Cincinnati.com. Will bedbugs give bookworms a run for the money?

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

3: Detroit

Motown's population has been in decline, but as humans have moved out, bedbugs seem to be moving in. Detroit comes in at number three on list of most bedbug-infested cities.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

2: Philadelphia

There's one thing the home of the Liberty Bell isn't free of: bedbugs. Reportedly enough of the creepy crawlies have taken root in the City of Brotherly Love to earn a vaunted number two slot on the list.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

1: New York City

Empire State Building illuminated in honor of Princess Diana. — AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Bedbugs have taken a big bite out of the Big Apple, and the bloodsuckers have shown up at some pretty tony places. Infestations have been reported at the Empire State Building, as well as Victoria's Secret, trendy clothing store Hollister and many hotels.

Even politicians are feeling the sting: Bedbugs have reportedly shown up in former President Clinton's office in Harlem.

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs

hitchhike, hitch hike, bed bugs, pretty, woman, girl, red, generic, stock — istockphoto

Freaking out over bedbugs? We asked the experts how to keep the bedbugs at bay.

Here are 7 Surefire Ways to Beat Bedbugs