Cities with the most bed bugs: Does your hometown rank?

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Baltimore has topped the pest control company Orkin's list of top 50 cities with the most bed bug treatments. The ranking is based on national home and commercial treatment data from December 1, 2015 to November 30, 2016. 

Bed bugs are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feeds exclusively on blood.  The cimex lectularius, the most common bedbug is best known as it prefers to feed on human blood. The name bedbug is derived from its preferred habitats such as warm houses, near or inside the bed and beddings. Bed bugs travel easily and can reside even in clean homes, according to a press statement by Orkin.

Wbir reported that the bed bugs were found in million dollar homes and hotels,  schools, movie theaters and public transit in all 50 states.

They are mostly active at night but not exclusively nocturnal. They feed on their host without being noticed. Although, the bites are painful, bed bugs are not known to transmit any pathogens as disease vectors, but adverse health effects may result from their bite including skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic reactions.

A person bitten by bedbug can find relief in antiseptic creams, lotions and antihistamines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To avoid irritating skin, the CDC advises against scratching bed bug bites.

 "Bed bugs only need blood to survive. We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing," Dr. Ron Harrison, Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services said.

He noted that more people are affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before. In the list, four metro areas made Orkin's rankings for the first time: Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Portland and Greensboro High Point, Winston Salem.

Here is the list of the top United States cities with the worst bed bug issues and their annual ranking changes from 2015 indicated in parentheses. The list is arranged in ascending order (of 1-50): Baltimore (+9), Washington, D.C. (+1), Chicago (-2), New York, Columbus, Ohio, Los Angeles (-4), Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia (-3) and San Francisco, Oakland-San Jose (+4).

The list continued with Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (-2), Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (-1), Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (-1), Indianapolis (+1), Dallas-Fort worth. Worth (-2), Atlanta (+3), Houston, Buffalo, New York (+2), Charlotte, N.C. (-3), Norfolk Portsmouth Newport News, Va. (+10),  Knoxville, Tenn. (+3), Denver (-4), Nashville, Tenn. (-1), Pittsburgh (+5), Greenville Spartanburg, S.C. Asheville, N.C. (-4), Phoenix (-3), Grand Rapids Kalamazoo Battle Creek, Mich. (+5), Boston (-3), Milwaukee (-3) and Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill. (+12), according to Fox News.

Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (+3), Dayton, Ohio (-4), Omaha, Neb. (+3), Seattle-Tacoma (-6), Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (-4), Charleston Huntington (-1), St. Louis (+3), Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Dubuque, Iowa (+3), Beach, Florence, S.C. (+11), Syracuse, N.Y. (+6), Louisville, Ky. (-2), Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, N.C., Lexington, Ky. (-10), Orlando, Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla. (-6), Kansas City, Mo. (-1), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (-3), Salt Lake City, Utah, Honolulu, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Portland, Ore.

The company stated that bed bugs were virtually unheard of 10 years ago.