Chicago ranks third as worst city for bed bugs

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FOX NEWS - For the first time, Baltimore has topped pest control company Orkin’s list of top 50 cities with the most bed bug treatments, a ranking based on national home and commercial treatment data from Dec. 1, 2015 to Nov. 30, 2016.

Bed bugs— tiny, blood-sucking nuisances that can leave skin with itchy welts— travel easily and can reside even in clean homes, according to a news release by Orkin. Although painful, bed bug bites do not pose a serious medical threat, and those people who are bitten can find relief in antiseptic creams, lotions and antihistamines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To avoid irritating skin, the CDC advises against scratching bed bug bites.

“Bed bugs only need blood to survive. We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing,” Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services Dr. Ron Harrison said in a news release.

Here are the top US cities with the worst bed bug problem with their annual ranking changes from 2015 indicated in parentheses:

1. Baltimore (+9)

2. Washington, D.C. (+1)

3. Chicago (-2)

4. New York

5. Columbus, Ohio

6. Los Angeles (-4)

7. Detroit

8. Cincinnati

9. Philadelphia (-3)

10. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (+4)

11. Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (-2)