Terminix Releases Top 50 Most Bed Bug-Infested Cities List

Philadelphia reclaimed the top title it last held in 2014, while Cleveland fell to No. 7 after two years as No. 1 on the list.


Posted by Brad Harbison, Editor

Published June 04, 2019
MEMPHIS, Tenn.— To kick off the busy summer travel season and Bed Bug Awareness Week, Terminix announced its 2019 ranking of the top 50 most bed bug-infested cities in the country.
 

Philadelphia reclaimed the top title it last held in 2014, while Cleveland fell to No. 7 after two years as No. 1 on the list. New York, Dallas, Indianapolis and Cincinnati rounded out the top five spots. Ohio dominated the list with six cities in the top 50, and Florida followed closely behind with five.

Terminix based its rankings on the number of services rendered in each city in the past year*. The top 50 cities for bed bug infestations in the United States are:

       
1.  Philadelphia 18. Nashville, Tenn.  35. Shreveport, La. 
2.  New York 19. Orlando, Fla.  36. Miami 
3.  Dallas-Fort Worth 20. Tampa, Fla.  37. Hartford, Conn. 
4.  Indianapolis 21. Louisville, Ky.  38. South Bend, Ind. 
5.  Cincinnati 22. St. Louis  39. Springfield, Mo. 
6.  Los Angeles 23. Little Rock, Ark.  40. Birmingham, Ala. 
7.  Cleveland 24. Dayton, Ohio  41. Grand Rapids, Mich. 
8.  Washington, D.C. 25. Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. 42. Jacksonville, Fla. 
9.  Chicago 26. Oklahoma City  43. West Palm Beach, Fla. 
10. Boston 27. Harrisburg, Pa.  44. Davenport, Iowa 
11. Columbus, Ohio 28. Toledo, Ohio  45. Honolulu 
12. Houston 29. Paducah, Ky.  46. Evansville, Ind. 
13. Baltimore 30. Fort Smith, Ark.  47. Jackson, Miss. 
14. Atlanta 31. Lexington, Ky.  48. Youngstown, Ohio 
15. Detroit 32. Champaign-Urbana, Ill. 49. Montgomery, Ala. 
16. Pittsburgh 33. Kansas City, Mo.  50. Denver 
17. Memphis, Tenn. 34. San Francisco    
       

 

“Bed bugs continue to pose concerns for public health, as their presence is felt across the country, in cities large and small,” said Matthew Stevenson, president of Terminix Residential. “Since pioneering this annual list almost a decade ago, Terminix has proven itself as a leader in bed bug detection, treatment and eradication. We’ve helped bring awareness to an epidemic that can lead to a variety of negative physical health, mental health and financial consequences.”

 
New research reveals one-fifth (22%) of Americans polled have had a bed bug encounter, and the odds are much higher for those with children (35%). Despite the high incidence rates and increased awareness of bed bugs, this research shows nearly half of the country who travel (48%) do not know what precautions to take to guard against them.**
 
*This ranking was created by compiling bed bug-specific data of services rendered at more than 300 Terminix branches across the country. The rankings represent Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with the highest number of actual services between April 16, 2018 and April 15, 2019.
 
** Data gathered in March, 2019, through an online survey of 1,516 randomly selected American adults who are Springboard America Community panel members and was executed by Maru/Blue. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been weighted by education, age, gender and region to match the population, according to Census data. This is to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of America. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
 

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