America’s Worst Cities for Bedbugs: Is Your Next Hotel Stay in One?

If you’re planning on visiting any of these destinations, you should read up on how to spot bedbugs in your hotel room (and what to do about it). Pest control company Orkin just released its list of the top cities for bedbugs, using data from both residential and commercial (i.e., vacation rentals and hotels) calls. Orkin noted which destinations had more bedbug outbreaks (Los Angeles, for example, moved up two spots on the list), and which had fewer (good job, New York, dropping four places).

Worst Cities for Bedbugs

1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago
4. Los Angeles (+2)
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Cincinnati (+2)
7. Detroit
8. New York (-4)
9. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
10. Dallas-Fort Worth (+5)
11. Indianapolis
12. Philadelphia
13. Atlanta (+3)
14. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (-1)
15. Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (-3)
16. Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (-5)
17. Houston
18. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va. (+2)
19. Charlotte, N.C. (-3)
20. Buffalo, N.Y. (-2)
21. Knoxville, Tenn.
22. Nashville, Tenn. (+1)
23. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich. (+4)
24. Pittsburgh
25. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville, N.C.
26. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill. (+4)
27. Phoenix (-1)
28. Denver (-6)
29. Milwaukee
30. Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (+1)
31. Charleston-Huntington, W.Va. (+5)
32. Boston (-4)
33. Syracuse, N.Y. (+7)
34. Dayton, Ohio (-2)
35. St. Louis (+2)
36. Seattle (-2)
37. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (+9)
38. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, M.I. (new to list)
39. Omaha, N.E. (-6)
40. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa (-2)
41. San Diego (new to list)
42. Lexington, Ky. (+1)
43. Honolulu, Hawaii (+5)
44. Louisville, Ky. (-3)
45. Las Vegas (+4)
46. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, N.C. (-4)
47. New Orleans (new to list)
48. Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C. (-9)
49. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (-14)
50. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (new to list)

Remember, when you check into a hotel room or vacation rental, always put your luggage somewhere with a tile surface (like the kitchen or bathroom) while you scope out the mattress, box spring, and headboard of your bed for bedbugs.

Would you let this list change your travel plans?

More from SmarterTravel:

• 8 Things You Need to Do in Your Hotel Room
• Bedbugs: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Too Disgusted to Ask
• Five Ways to Stop Bedbugs Before They Bite

Caroline Morse would still visit all of the worst cities for bedbugs. Follow her on Instagram @TravelwithCaroline and Twitter @CarolineMorse1 for advice and travel inspiration.