New Jersey pest control experts agree that no matter how you view the statistics, bed bug infestations are skyrocketing upwards. Despite the resurgence in the past ten years, most government agencies throughout the United States are not required or choose not to track bed bug infestation rates. Some school districts, such as the New York City Department of Education is keeping track of reported “cases” and “breeding areas” for statistical purposes. For the most part, for true bed bug infestation statistical numbers, we must rely on other sources to gain information.
Two nationwide pest control companies, Terminix and Orkin, have released their findings of the top bed bug infested cities throughout the United States for the past two years. Their information is gathered based upon the number of confirmed infestations found by their exterminators during services calls.
The Bed Bug Registry is a free online bed bug database that is available to public. Originating in 2006, this site allows visitors to be proactive in trying to avoid bed bugs before they travel so they can make an informed decision in their traveling plans. The site covers locations within the United States and Canada. Users of the site are able to plug in a hotels name, the city, state or province and find out the bed bug history of the hotel in question. Travelers are also able to report their own bed bug encounters at infested hotels. It should be noted that The Bed Bug Registry does not verify any claims and any hotel can file a dispute if they think that they have been wrongfully accused.
The Wall Street Journal reported information about another hotel review website is also available to consumers. Raveable.com claims that since 2010, “the number of individual hotels with bed bugs has risen 250%.” According to Raveable, the top 10 ten cities with the most bed bug infested hotels are:
• Las Vegas
• New York City
• San Francisco
• Orlando
• Atlantic City
• Chicago
• Los Angelel
• Washington, DC
• Columbus
• Anaheim
You may read the article here.
No matter how you look at the statistics, bed bug infestations seem to be here to stay…at least for the time being. It’s important for consumers to be alert and for all hotels to have an experienced pest control professional who is trained in bed bug eradication services at the ready!