Major American city again takes top honors for worst possible travel reason

A new report lists which cities received the highest volume of calls to exterminate bedbugs.(iStock)

“Many cities where bedbug activity has been the worst in the last year are also some of the country’s most popular travel destinations and are expected to welcome large numbers of visitors for major concerts, festivals and sporting events throughout the summer and beyond,” Orkin announced in apress release.

Nashville and Oklahoma City each climbed 10 spots on this year’s list, the company said, while Youngstown, Omaha and Knoxville recorded some of the largest declines.

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According to Orkin, “These year-over-year changes highlight the persistent and evolving nature of bedbug activity across the nation.”

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The rankings are based on treatment data from metro areas where Orkin performed the most bedbug treatments from May 2025 to May 12, 2026, and includes both residential and commercial bedbug treatments.

A report bycasino.careleased earlier this summer ranked Michigan as the state with the highest estimated risk of encountering bedbugs, followed by Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,

Chicago has been a bedbug hot spot for years, according to reports.(iStock)

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Warren, Michigan, topped the list of U.S.cities, with North Las Vegas, Nevada, and Madison, Wisconsin, also ranking among the biggest hot spots, according to the report.

Thecasino.caanalysis combined bedbug data from Orkin and Terminix with TripAdvisor hotel reviews, treatment records and social-media posts to estimate travelers’ risk of encountering bedbugs.

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While such reports “make for fun reads,�

“The main problem I have with these [rankings] is they make it seem like urban areas have all the bedbug problems, but from some recent work we’ve done and anecdotal reports, we know bedbugs can show up anywhere — urban, suburban or rural,” he said.

Experts advise doing a quick check of furniture, shoes and upholstery to check for bedbugs while traveling.(iStock)

“In fact, while people are more packed together in urban areas and thus more likely to bump into bedbugs, those living in rural areas may have less access to good pest control services and thus may find it more difficult to get rid of bedbugs,” he added.

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Experts recommend inspecting mattress seams, upholstered furniture and behind headboards for bedbugs while traveling.

They also suggest using a sticky lint roller on clothing, upholstery and the bottoms of shoes to help detect hitchhiking bed bugs.