Philadelphia Ranked Second Most Bed Bug-Infested City In America

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Waking up itchy in the middle of the night?

There might be a reason for that, if you life in Philadelphia.

The City of Brotherly Love was recently named the second most bed-bug infested city in the United States in a recent study.

Pest control services provider Terminix released the ranking.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in bed bugs since the 1990s, which has been influenced by increased international travel and infestations left untreated,” said Paul Curtis, manager, technical services at Terminix, in a press release. “Most of the cities in our top 15 are big tourist and business destinations, making travelers even more at risk for encounters with bed bugs -- whether it’s on the plane, at their hotel, in a movie theater or riding in a taxi. The name ‘bed bug’ is deceptive, as these pests can thrive just about anywhere.”

Philadelphia took top honors in the 2015 ranking, but was supplanted this year by Detroit.

The rankings come from data from the more than 300 Terminix branches across the country. The rankings represent Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with the highest volume of calls from Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 17, 2015.

The full listing of the top 15 is included below:

1. Detroit, Mich. (4)
2. Philadelphia, Pa. (1)
3. Cleveland-Akron, Ohio (15)
4. Los Angeles, Calif. (14)
5. Dayton, Ohio (-)
6. Chicago, Ill. (5)
7. Columbus, Ohio (8)
8. Cincinnati, Ohio (2)
9. Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas (7)
10. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif. (-)
11. Denver, Colo. (12)
12. Toledo, Ohio (-)
13. Oklahoma City, OK (-)
14. Baltimore, Md. (9)
15. New York, N.Y. (3)