Louisville Lands on Orkin's Annual Top 50 ‘Bedbug Cities’ List

A bed bug on a dime. Courtesy of Orkin

No one likes a bed bug. We look out for them at home. We look out for them in hotels. They’re a nasty little nuisance. Unfortunately, Louisville landed in the Top 50 on the annual Orkin Bed Bug Cities List, meaning it is one of the 50 most infected cities in the U.S.

Chicago was the No. 1 place where you’d be likely to find a bed bug sleeping next to you. The next four on the list are Philadelphia, New York, Detroit and Baltimore. Louisville landed at 49, just sneaking onto the list and having dropped three spots from last year. Our Kentucky neighbor to the east, Lexington, sits at 47. Other nearby cities made the list too, such as Cincinnati (10) and Nashville (34).

Per Orkin’s announcement, bed bugs typically are about 3/16 inch long, red to dark brown in color and are mostly nocturnal insects that “come out of hiding to take blood meals from sleeping humans.” They are also hematophagous, which means blood is their only food source. They can travel from place to place with ease, clinging to items such as luggage, purses and other personal belongings.

Bed bugs also are known for rapid reproduction. Females can deposit one to five eggs a day and may lay 200 to 500 eggs in their lifetime. They can survive for several months while waiting for their next blood meal, so they're likely to emerge when a food source, e.g., humans, become available. Ew.

"Bed bugs are a concern for everyone because they are master hitchhikers, traveling home with people when they likely don't realize it," Ben Hottel, an Orkin entomologist, said in the news release. "Their nature of hiding in difficult-to-find cracks and crevices can make them hard to control, which is why involving a trained professional at the sight of an introduction is recommended."

No, it’s not the list Louisville wants to be a part of. But, hey, at least we aren’t Chicago. Here’s the full list:

1. Chicago

2. Philadelphia (+12)

3. New York (+9)

4. Detroit

5. Baltimore (-3)

6. Indianapolis (+1)

7. Washington, DC (-4)

8. Cleveland, OH (-2)

9. Columbus, OH (-4)

10. Cincinnati (-2)

11. Grand Rapids, MI (-1)

12. Los Angeles (-3)

13. Champaign, IL (+2)

14. Atlanta (-1)

15. Charlotte, N.C. (-4)

16. Dallas-Ft. Worth

17. Denver (+3)

18. St. Louis, MO (+7)

19. San Francisco (+3)

20. Pittsburg (-1)

21. Greenville, S.C. (+2)

22. Charleston, W.V. (-4)

23. Flint, MI (-2)

24. Raleigh, N.C. (-7)

25. Norfolk, VA (-1)

26. Richmond, VA

27. Omaha (+3)

28. Buffalo, N.Y. (+1)

29. Knoxville (+7)

30. Cedar Rapids, IA (+5)

31. Toledo, OH (-4)

32. Dayton, OH (-4)

33. South Bend, IN (+8)

34. Nashville (-3)

35. Davenport, IA (+3)

36. Ft. Wayne, IN (-3)

37. Youngstown (+3)

38. Milwaukee (-6)

39. Miami (+8)

40. Tampa (-1)

41. Houston (-4)

42. Harrisburg (new to list)

43. Greensboro, N.C. (-9)

44. Seattle

45. Peoria, IL (+4)

46. Orlando (-1)

47. Lexington, KY (-4)

48. Lansing, MI

49. Louisville, KY (-3)

50. Lincoln, NE (new to list)