Friday, March 29, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Honolulu Bed Bugs Crawl Up to 42nd Place
By News Release @ 8:40 PM :: 4733 Views :: Hawaii Statistics

Chicago Tops Bed Bug Cities List for Third Year in a Row

Bed bug business increased 18 percent last year with nearly half of cities showing a rise in bed bug treatments

News Release from Orkin, January, 2015

Chicago tops the 2014 Bed Bug Cities List for the third year in a row. The list, released by pest control leader Orkin, ranks the cities by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed from January to December 2014. Bed bugs were in the news throughout 2014 in the Windy City, with reports of the blood-sucking insects on public transit and inside several downtown office buildings, as well as in police headquarters, a fire station, school, library and movie theater.

“Bed bugs are a serious issue across the country, and they’re very difficult to control,” said Orkin Entomologist and Technical Services Director Ron Harrison, Ph.D. “Bed bugs are not limited to any level of cleanliness or income, which means they can be found in any home or hotel. They’re great hitchhikers, and people often bring them inside on their clothes or in their luggage.”

Seven cities made double-digit jumps on Orkin’s Bed Bug Cities List compared to 2013, including Omaha, Neb. (+16), Lexington, Ky. (+16), Sacramento, Calif. (+14), Grand Rapids, Mich. (+13), Buffalo, N.Y. (+12), Charleston, W.Va. (+11) and Louisville, Ky. (+10). Several cities also dropped significantly in the past year, including Syracuse, N.Y., San Diego, Miami, Greenville, S.C. and Atlanta. Four cities made the Bed Bug Cities List for the first time including Myrtle Beach, S.C., St. Louis, Bowling Green, Ky. and Ft. Wayne, Ind.

  1. Chicago
  2. Detroit (+2)
  3. Columbus, Ohio
  4. Los Angeles (-2)
  5. Cleveland – Akron – Canton, Ohio (+1)
  6. Dallas – Ft. Worth (+7)
  7. Cincinnati (-2)
  8. Denver (+1)
  9. Richmond – Petersburg, VA.(+2)
  10. Dayton, Ohio (-3)
  11. Indianapolis (-1)
  12. Houston (+4)
  13. Seattle – Tacoma (+5)
  14. Washington, District of Columbia – Hagerstown, Md. (-6)
  15. Milwaukee (+6)
  16. San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose (+3)
  17. Raleigh – Durham – Fayetteville, N.C. (-5)
  18. New York (-1)
  19. Charleston – Huntington, W.Va. (+11)
  20. Grand Rapids -Kalamazoo – Battle Creek, Mich. (+13)
  21. Omaha, Neb. (+16)
  22. Louisville,Ky. (+10)
  23. Nashville, Tenn.
  24. Lexington, Ky. (+16)
  25. Atlanta (-10)
  26. Buffalo, N.Y. (+12)
  27. Sacramento – Stockton – Modesto, Calif. (+14)
  28. Syracuse, N.Y. (-14)
  29. Boston – Manchester (-9)
  30. Charlotte, N.C. (-5)
  31. Baltimore (-4)
  32. Phoenix- Prescott(-4)
  33. Miami – Ft. Lauderdale (-11)
  34. Knoxville, Tenn (-3)
  35. Cedar Rapids – Waterloo – Dubuque, Iowa (-6)
  36. Minneapolis – St. Paul (+8)
  37. Hartford – New Haven, Conn. (+3)
  38. Champaign – Springfield – Decatur, Ill. (-3)
  39. San Diego (-13)
  40. Lincoln – Hastings – Kearney, Neb. (-1)
  41. Kansas City, Mo. (+9)
  42. Honolulu (+3)
  43. Albany – Schenectady – Troy, N.Y.
  44. Colorado Springs – Pueblo, Colo. (-2)
  45. Myrtle Beach – Florence, S.C.
  46. St. Louis
  47. Greenville – Spartanburg, S.C. – Asheville, N.C. (-11)
  48. Bowling Green, Ky.
  49. Ft. Wayne, Ind.
  50. Toledo, Ohio (-4)

Bed bugs are in every region of the country, and Orkin has treated for bed bugs in all 50 states. Rollins saw an 18 percent increase in bed bug revenue in 2014. The problem is growing nationwide as well. According to an annual report on the pest control industry, Americans spent $446 million to get rid of bed bugs in 2013, the latest data available, compared to $70 million in 2004.

While the cities above topped Orkin’s list, homeowners, tenants and travelers across the country should take the following precautions to help prevent bed bugs:

At Home:
  • Inspect your home for signs of bed bugs regularly. Check locations where bed bugs hide during the day, including in furniture, mattress seams and bed sheets, as well as behind baseboards, electrical outlets and picture frames.
  • Decrease clutter around your home to make bed bug inspections and detection much easier.
  • Inspect and quarantine all secondhand furniture before bringing it inside your home.
  • Dry potentially infested bed linens, curtains and stuffed animals on the hottest temperature allowed for the fabric
During travel, remember the acronym S.L.E.E.P. to inspect for bed bugs:
  • Survey the hotel room for signs of an infestation. Look for red or brown spots on sheets.
  • Lift and Look in bed bug hiding spots: the mattress, box spring, sheets and furniture, as well as behind baseboards, pictures and even torn wallpaper.
  • Elevate luggage on a rack away from the bed and wall. The safest places are in the bathroom or on counters.
  • Examine your luggage while repacking and once you return home from a trip.
  • Place all dryer-safe clothing from your luggage in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at the highest setting when you return home.

Bed bugs are not known to spread human disease like many other pests, but can leave itchy, bloody welts on skin, and they are active year-round. Because every bed bug scenario is different, it’s important for homeowners to call a professional who can create a solution tailored to their home’s needs.

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT