Major American city again takes top honors for worst possible travel reason
Paris streets filled with mattresses due to bedbug epidemic
While the bedbug epidemic continues to be a problem in the city, a street in Paris, France, is filled with mattresses in plastic bags. An 18-year-old student was walking home from school when he noticed beds on the side of the street.
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As people prepare to travel for summer vacation, a leading pest control company reveals the U.S. cities where you’re most likely to encounter bedbugs.
Bedbugs are small insects that feed on blood and live near people or animals, preferring places where we sleep or rest, such as beds, sofas and nearby furniture. They can cause itchy bites, skin irritation and, in some cases, allergic reactions.
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Chicago once again tops Orkin’s 2026 list Bed Bug Cities List, It maintained its number one ranking as the city where the pest control and extermination company performs the most bed bug treatments in America.
Orkin announced last year that the Windy City remained the most bedbug-infested city in the country for the fifth consecutive year.
Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis rounded out the top five this year. Orkin reported an increase in bedbug activity in popular tourist spots Tampa and Myrtle Beach.
A new report lists which cities received the most calls for bedbug eradication. (iStock)
“Many cities where bedbug activity was worst last year are also some of the country’s most popular travel destinations and are expected to host large numbers of visitors for major concerts, festivals and sporting events throughout the summer and beyond,” Orkin said. he said. Press release.
The company said Nashville and Oklahoma City moved up 10 spots on this year’s list, while Youngstown, Omaha and Knoxville posted some of the biggest declines.
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According to Orkin, “These changes from year to year highlight the persistent and evolving nature of bedbug activity across the country.”
The rankings are based on treatment data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bedbug treatments from May 2025 through May 12, 2026, and include both residential and commercial bedbug treatments.
A report prepared by casino.ca The report released earlier this summer ranked Michigan as the state with the highest risk of encountering bedbugs, followed by Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Fox News Digital previously reported. Hawaii and Oregon were at the bottom of the list.
According to reports, Chicago has been a bedbug hotspot for years. (iStock)
Warren, Michigan, tops the list of U.S. cities, while North Las Vegas, Nevada and Madison, Wisconsin are also among the biggest hot spots, according to the report.
casino.ca The analysis combined bedbug data from Orkin and Terminix with TripAdvisor hotel reviews, treatment records and social media posts to estimate travelers’ risk of encountering bedbugs.
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Zachary DeVries, an associate professor of urban entomology at the University of Kentucky, previously warned Fox News Digital not to put too much stock in such reports, although they “make fun to read.”
“The main problem I have with these is [rankings] “They make it seem like all the bedbug problems are in urban areas, but we know from some recent studies and anecdotal reports that bedbugs can show up anywhere — urban, suburban or rural,” he said.
Experts recommend a quick check of furniture, shoes, and upholstery to check for bedbugs while traveling. (iStock)
“In fact, while people are more congested in urban areas and therefore more likely to encounter bedbugs, those living in rural areas may have less access to good pest control services and therefore find it more difficult to get rid of bedbugs,” he added.
Dini Miller, professor of urban pest management at Virginia Tech, told Fox News Digital that bedbugs tend to attract attention in places where people visit and seek them out.
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Experts recommend inspecting mattress seams, upholstered furniture and the back of headboards for bedbugs when traveling.
They also recommend using a sticky lint roller on clothing, upholstery, and the bottoms of shoes to help detect hitchhiking bedbugs.
