Baltimore is ranked #1 (for bed bugs)

Inigoes said:

DC is number 2.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/01/03/baltimore-d-c-rank-1-and-2-on-orkins-bed-bugs-cities-list/

The ranking, seen below, includes both residential and commercial treatments.
1.Baltimore (+9)
2.Washington, D.C. (+1)
3.Chicago (-2)
4.New York
5.Columbus, Ohio
6.Los Angeles (-4)
7.Detroit
8.Cincinnati
9.Philadelphia (-3)
10.San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (+4)

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smokey0118 said:

I knew those cities were full of parasites living off of people. I now know they have bedbugs too.

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DC-W said:

I've had them a couple times. Wouldn't wish it upon anybody. Not fun...

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GodOfVice said:

Nasty! How does one get an infestation and more importantly.... make them go away?

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hornbakerfella said:

I think you have heat an environment to a high temp for a certain amount of time to rid yourself of the bedbugs

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GodOfVice said:

Nasty! How does one get an infestation and more importantly.... make them go away?

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DC-W said:

They are hitchhikers. Suitcases, clothing, purses, bags, bodies, etc... are all vessels for them. Their tiny size allows them to tuck into tiny, tiny places.



They reproduce fast. They can hide in the crevices of whatever furniture is around, behind electric outlet faceplates, and even the cracks in your hardwood floors... Their bites are like those of mosquitos in that they inject an anesthetic that cancels any pain or feeling. The red, flat welts they leave take a few days to appear and usually appear in lines of 3.



The bugs are resistant to MANY pesticides, but some do work. DDT nearly wiped them out in the US years ago, but their numbers surged with the banning of it and the increase of international travel. Exterminators use heat, diatomaceous earth, and chemical pesticides to kill them. Treatment can take weeks...



A neighbor in the apartment below ours had them. Their infestation was so bad, that the bugs came up through the walls and floors from downstairs into our bed room. They made home in our bed frame and dined on me nightly for a few weeks before I figured out what was going on. It was awful.



Every piece of laundry must be washed daily. Furniture must be checked for them and their eggs. We had to discard of a few blankets and our bed frame. Neighbors lost a ton of stuff -- even picture frames on their walls were infested.

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HokieKev said:

I have not verified this - I was searching for a reference. But I've heard that if you let your house stay below freezing for 3 consecutive days unoccupied then you can get rid of them. I'm assuming the house would have to be empty of people - I mean - you can't be in there feeding them during that time.

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DJones2987 said:

I'm an exterminator, there's several ways to get rid of them. You don't have to burn your house down or freeze it lol.

And they can live for a year without a meal, so it must be treated with pesticides.

Even with an enthoterm treatment, which is heating the house up to at least 120* for 3 hours, pesticides are used in conjunction.

In a minor infestation it can be remedied with a few certain insecticides and special mattress covers.

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DJones2987 said:

I'm an exterminator, there's several ways to get rid of them. You don't have to burn your house down or freeze it lol.

And they can live for a year without a meal, so it must be treated with pesticides.

Even with an enthoterm treatment, which is heating the house up to at least 120* for 3 hours, pesticides are used in conjunction.

In a minor infestation it can be remedied with a few certain insecticides and special mattress covers.

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DC-W said:

Hats off for the work you do.

I'm paranoid, so mattress covers in all the beds in my house.

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