Asheville takes a bite out of Orkin’s bed bug list

For the third year in a row, Asheville placed in Orkin’s list of the top-50 cities in the U.S. that have the biggest bed bug infestations.

However, the city did take a bite out of the problem this year, dropping 11 spots down the list, from ranking the 36th worst city in 2013 to the 47th worst in 2014.

The ranks are determined by the number of bed bug treatments Orkin performed throughout the year. For the sake of this list, Asheville is bunched in with Greenville and Spartanburg, S.C. so the ranking may be unfairly weighted by those cities, which lie about an hour south. Orkin does not break down the results between the three cities.

Chicago, Il topped Orkin’s national list for the third year in a row.

Bed bugs are not known to spread human disease like many other pests, but can leave itchy, bloody welts on skin. For more on Orkin’s list as well as the its suggestions for detecting and preventing the pests, visit the company’s website here.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Jake Frankel
Jake Frankel is an award-winning journalist who enjoys covering a wide range of topics, from politics and government to business, education and entertainment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Asheville takes a bite out of Orkin’s bed bug list

  1. Most bed bug control methods are obsolete. Google “bed sized bed bug trap” to convert entire bed into a trap with sleeper as inaccessible CO2 bait. Heating entire house to kill bed bugs is as nonsense as heating the house to kill ants. Bed bugs detect CO2 at meter distance and exclusively feed on blood, while ants detect poison bait at mm distance and can also eat food. Killing bed bugs by the trap is easier than killing ants by the bait. Mattress encasement is as nonsense as a camper uses a tent as bush encasement to seal mosquitoes inside a bush and sleeps outside the tent. Mattress or bush does not need any protection if the insects can’t bite. Killing bed bugs everywhere every day is nonsense. The bed sized trap stops bite immediately and kills 100% bed bugs in weeks. It is not important when the last bug starves due to no more bite and little effort. Multiple treatments of kill-on-contact (vacuum, steam, and chemical) search bed bugs behind a wall, under floor, and inside electronics in futile. It is difficult for people to find every tiny object bed bug without missing a single one. It is easy for every bed bug to find a large object sleeper and die on the way for food without survivor. It is difficult to get rid of bed bugs with methods preferring endless cycles of killing at daytime, feeding at night, and letting a survived one lay up to 300 eggs. It is easy to stop bite immediately and kill 100% bed bugs and eggs in weeks with little effort.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.