Ohio metro areas rank in top 50 worst cities for bed bugs

Don’t let the bed bugs bite.

Four metropolitan areas in Ohio have ranked as some of the worst cities for bed bugs. In the six years Orkin has released the bed bug city rankings, and several Ohio cities made the list again.

Columbus ranked No. 5 while Cincinnati landed at No. 8. The Cleveland-Akron-Canton metro area ranked 13th, and Dayton ranked No. 32. Baltimore tops this year’s Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list, along with Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York.

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“Anyone can get bed bugs in their home. They are not a sign of uncleanliness. Bed bugs only need blood to survive. We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing,” said Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services Ron Harrison.

Bed bugs can be difficult to detect and treat because of their small size and ability to survive up to a year without feeding. They are about the size of an apple seed when fully grown, and can hide around seams of a mattress, behind headboards and in cracks and crevices, usually within a five-foot radius of the bed. The first signs of a bed bug infestation are often the bed bugs themselves or small dark stains bed bugs can leave behind.

Tips at home:

  • Inspect your home for signs of bed bugs regularly. Check locations where bed bugs hide during the day, including mattress seams and behind baseboards, headboards, electrical outlets and picture frames. "I like to inspect every week when I change the sheets to make sure I don't have a visitor," Harrison says.
  • Decrease clutter around your home to make bed bug inspections and detection much easier.
  • Inspect all secondhand furniture before bringing it inside your home.
  • Dry potentially infested bed linens, curtains and stuffed animals on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabric.

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