AMERICA — Baltimore ranked number one for the second straight year on Orkin's annual Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list.<br />The Atlanta-based pest control company published the list on Monday and it's based on the most home and commercial treatments for bed bugs from December 2016 to November 2017, Bloomberg reported.<br />Baltimore came in first, Washington second, Chicago third, Los Angeles fourth and Columbus in fifth.<br /><br />Bed bug numbers were reduced after WWII, but have since made a comeback due to increased traveling, regulatory restrictions on insecticides such as DDT and tolerance to organic pesticides.<br /><br />One research firm found that the bed bug control industry was worth around US$611.2 million in 2016, with some analysts estimating industry revenue could hit US$1 billion in five years, according to Bloomberg.<br /><br />According to one report, hotels spend on average of US$6,383 per bed bug incident, which includes the replacement cost for soft-goods, treatment and lost business.
