Think Bed Bugs Are Just a Hotel Problem? Here Are the U.S. Cities Where They’re Thriving

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You probably saw the articles recently about the lawsuit a family filed against Delta and KLM, claiming their international flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam was infested with bed bugs.

Bed bugs can be found where people can be found. For travelers, we’ve gone over some of the places in the past:

• Airplanes (well, duh)
• Airports
• Hotels (here’s how to not bring them home)

Orkin has been controlling pests since 1901 (yep, this is their 125th year!). They have hundreds of locations across the U.S., plus international operations. And they’ve been ranking the cities with the most bed bugs (that they’ve been asked to treat, at least) since at least 2014.

Here’s their list for 2025, which is based on treatment data (both residential and commercial) from metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatments from May 15, 2024 – May 14, 2025:

1. Chicago
2. Cleveland (+2)
3. Detroit (+3)
4. Los Angeles (+1)
5. Indianapolis (+3)
6. Washington, D.C. (+1)
7. Grand Rapids, Mich. (+7)
8. Columbus, Ohio (+3)
9. Champaign, Ill. (+1)
10. Milwaukee (+15)
11. Baltimore (+5)
12. Pittsburgh (+9)
13. Cincinnati (-1)
14. Denver (+1)
15. New York (-13)
16. Flint, Mich. (+7)
17. Atlanta (-4)
18. St. Louis (+1)
19. Charleston, W. Va. (+7)
20. Cedar Rapids, Iowa (+19)
21. Davenport, Iowa (+8)
22. Youngstown, Ohio (-2)
23. Raleigh, N.C. (+1)
24. Dallas (-2)
25. Philadelphia (-22)
26. Omaha, Neb. (+10)
27. South Bend, Ind. (+10)
28. Richmond, Va. (-11)
29. Knoxville, Tenn. (+5)
30. Greenville, S.C. (-3)
31. Norfolk, Va. (-3)
32. Charlotte, N.C. (-23)
33. Peoria, Ill. (+18)
34. Oklahoma City, Okla. (+14)
35. Hartford, Conn. (+48)
36. Toledo, Ohio (-4)
37. Buffalo (+5)
38. Fort Wayne, Ind. (+2)
39. Seattle (+5)
40. Minneapolis (+7)
41. Miami (+1)
42. San Francisco (-1)
43. Dayton, Ohio (-10)
44. Nashville (-14)
45. Houston (-7)
46. Las Vegas (-11)
47. Boston (+10)
48. Lansing, Mich. (+4)
49. San Diego (+10)
50. Syracuse, N.Y. (+8)

Some fun facts about the list:

• Chicago is #1 for the 5th year in a row.
• Hartford, CT, made the biggest jump – 48 spots – to rank #35.
• Charlotte (#32), Philly (#25) and NYC (#15) all saw significant drops (they had been #11, #3 and #2 last year)

Orkin also gave their annual proactive tips for homeowners and travelers, to prevent bed bugs. We listed them at the bottom of this piece.

Click here for more information about Orkin’s 2025 list.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary