Philadelphia hopped into the Top 10 of a dubious list of the top places to find a bloodsucking household pest.
The City of Brotherly Love went from outside the Top 50 to No. 6 on Orkin’s list of “Top 50 Bed Bug Cities.” It's the first time since 2011 that Philly made the list.
“Bedbugs are the great hitchhiker of the bug world, and they are very difficult to control without professional help,” said Orkin entomologist and technical services director Ron Harrison, Ph.D. in a news release.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the bugs -- that can grow to the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny -- can live hidden in mattresses for “several months without a blood meal.” Bedbugs don’t pose a public health hazard, however, said the CDC.
Philadelphia Health Department said it doesn’t monitor bedbugs since the tiny pests don’t transmit diseases such as mosquitoes or rodents.
The reddish-brown insects, however, can leave marks on the skin of people who have them in their homes.
“Bedbugs can travel in luggage and other personal belongings to enter your home,” Harrison said. “They don’t just hide in beds -- they can be found in furniture, bed posts, rugs and even electrical outlets.”
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Philly ranked even higher (no. 2) on Terminex's list of cities for bedbugs released a few weeks back.
Orkin, a major pest control company, compiled data from homes in all 50 states in 2015 by counting the number of homes where bedbugs were present. Chicago came out at No. 1, with Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York and Columbus, Ohio rounded out the Top 5.
