Learn how to protect against bedbugs

Free workshop for retailers and others will be Feb. 27; Orkin releases list of metro areas most plagued by the critters

Bedbugs aren’t in the news as much these days, but that doesn’t mean they’re no longer a menace to homeowners, renters and retailers who could transport potentially infested used bedding.

“The number of bedbug infestations in the United States is still rising,” says Tim Husen, an entomologist with Orkin, a nationwide pest management company based in Atlanta. “They continue to invade our homes and businesses on a regular basis because they are not seasonal pests, and only need blood to survive.”

Retailers who pick up and dispose of used bedding anywhere should take steps to eliminate any possible contamination of new bedding or delivery trucks. If you’re in an area particularly plagued by bedbugs, such steps are even more critical.

The Mattress Recycling Council, along with other concerned groups in Connecticut, is hosting a workshop on “Best Practices for Bed Bug Management of Used Mattresses, Bedding & Upholstered Furniture” from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Connecticut DEEP Auditorium, 79 Elm St., in Hartford, Connecticut. Retailers who live outside the area and can’t attend in-person can participate via webinar. The workshop is free. For more information, contact Kate Caddy at kcaddy@mattressrecyclingcouncil.org or 571-279-7366. To register for the webinar, visit https://zoom.us/meeting/register/241fc198f264be9b8c34be5db4a05ad8.

Orkin recently released its annual list of the Top 50 Bed Bug Cities—a dubious distinction, indeed.

Several metropolitan areas moved up on the list this year. Honolulu, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and the Charleston-Huntington metro area of West Virginia each climbed five places. Syracuse, New York, jumped seven places and the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale metro area rocketed up nine places.

Making their first appearance on the list this year are San Diego, the Flint-Saginaw-Bay City region of Michigan and the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area of New York.

Orkin’s ranking is based on treatment data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatments—both residential and commercial—from Dec. 1, 2016, to Nov. 30, 2017.

1. 1. 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 (-1)
      15. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (-3)
      16. Richmond-Petersburg, Virginia (-5)
      17. Houston
      18. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Virginia (+2)
      19. Charlotte, North Carolina (-3)
      20. Buffalo, New York (-2)
      21. Knoxville, Tennessee
      22. Nashville, Tennessee (+1)
      23. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan (+4)
      24. Pittsburgh
      25. Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina-Asheville, North Carolina
      26. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Illinois (+4)
      27. Phoenix (-1)
      28. Denver (-6)
      29. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
      30. Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut (+1)
      31. Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia (+5)
      32. Boston (-4)
      33. Syracuse, New York (+7)
      34. Dayton, Ohio (-2)
      35. St. Louis (+2)
      36. Seattle (-2)
      37. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (+9)
      38. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Michigan (new to list)
      39. Omaha, Nebraska (-6)
      40. Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa (-2)
      41. San Diego (new to list)
      42. Lexington, Kentucky (+1)
      43. Honolulu (+5)
      44. Louisville, Kentucky (-3)
      45. Las Vegas (+4)
      46. Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem,North Carolina (-4)
      47. New Orleans (new to list)
      48. Myrtle Beach-Florence, South Carolina (-9)
      49. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida (-14)
      50. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York (new to list)