January 03, 2017
Carolyn Kaster/AP
In this Wednesday, March 30, 2011, file photo, a bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia earned itself a top spot on a list that'll be sure to make your skin crawl.
Orkin, an Atlanta-based pest control company, rolled out its "Top 50 Bed Bug Cities" Tuesday based on how many bed bug treatments the company performed at residential and commercial facilities from Dec. 1, 2015, until Nov. 30, 2016, in cities across the nation.
Philly fell to No. 9 this year, three spots lower than its ranking on the company's 2015 list. The City of Brotherly Love also ranked one spot below Cincinnati and one above San Francisco.
Baltimore came it at No. 1 on Orkin's list.
“We have more people affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before,” Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services Ron Harrison, Ph.D., said in a statement. “They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago."
The company said that the insect hops around easily and can be hard to spot but is usually found after leaving dark spots behind on mattresses or other furniture.
To reduce infestation, Orkin recommends homeowners check occasionally for the spots, decrease clutter to make inspection easier, check out used furniture before usage and dry linens using the highest heat possible.
It's not the only adverse ranking Philly's gotten from Orkin – the city was No. 7 on the company's "rattiest cities" list published in October.
Check out Orkin's top 10 most bed bug infested cities below or check out the full list here.
1. Baltimore
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Chicago
4. New York
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Los Angeles
7. Detroit
8. Cincinnati
9. Philadelphia
10. San Francisco
