Pest Management Professional, May 2014

HEAT INSURANCE ELIMINATION PLAINTIFFS COMMUNICATION LIA BIL BUSINESS MODELS ITY COOPERATION RATE BUGS BED SENSORS REMOTE CARDS CLIENT LAWSUITS TRAINING ECTO PARASITE SUBPOENAS PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA CIMICOSIS CONTRACTS SOPS MORBIDITY INCOMPETENT CIMEX LECTULARIUS ERRORS OMISSIONS RAPID PCR REFUGIA INSPECTIONS PUBLIC HEALTH BED BUG UPDATE Bed Bugs across America The top 50 city rankings reveal little has changed in a year Will Nepper Managing Editor T he cities may change but the story remains the same the countrys bed bug fever still refuses to break Even though the top 50 affected cities are shuffled around from year to year most of the same names continue to find a place on the list Orkins annual ranking of the top 50 bed bug cities based on the companys number of bed bug treatments is widely circulated often making national news when its announced each year Despite the coverage and heightened awareness the pests are still a substantial problem particularly in major travel hub cities Thirty states ranked in the top 50 of Orkins list with Calif Ohio and N Y still leading the pack Each of the three states saw four of their major cities make last years list which measured the top bed bug cities of 2012 The new list of 2013 s top contenders adds Ill to the four city club with Chicago continuing to reign supreme as the biggest bed bug city in America for the second consecutive year The Davenport Iowa Moline Ill region was the newcomer to the top 50 ranking at 48 Similarly Toledo Ohio debuted on the list making Ohio the state to appear most often in the top 50 with five cities listed Though some cities like Detroit Dallas New York Seattle Milwaukee San Francisco as well as the District of Columbia managed to take a few baby steps down the list others made significant jumps in the right direction indicating an increased awareness in those regions Omaha Neb for example dropped an impressive 20 places on the list to number 37 Similarly promising strides were made by Colorado Springs Colo 19 and Lexington Ky 16 Still nearly half of the listed cities show a significant increase in bed bug treatment between 2012 and 2013 Atlanta jumped up the list 14 spots to number 15 Charlotte N C moved 18 places to number 25 and the Champagne Springfield region of Ill was home to an increase in bed bug activity that moved it up 13 places to number 35 Chicago Los Angeles Detroit and Cincinnati cant seem to break away from their unenviable spots in the top 5 Chicago can be singled out for legislative efforts enacted to curb bed bug activity in the city The Windy Citys reputation as ground zero for bed bugs inspired its city council to pass an ordinance in July 2013 requiring condo associations to have a formal management plan in place for bed bug detection inspection and treatment Only time will tell if this will have any significant impact on the citys ranking next year B7 May 2014 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net Illustration iStock com hh5800 Continued on page B9