Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes but for this city, it could also be the Land of 10,000 bed bug bites!

The numbers are in and one city here in the North Star State has been included on the list of the cities with the most bed bugs. Really. And bed bugs ARE a real thing. I used to think they were just part of that 'Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!' saying my mom used to tell me as a kid when I was going to bed.

But, yeah, bed bugs are real. They were once virtually eradicated in the developed world years ago, but the Center for Invasive Species Research at the University of California Davis says bed bugs (technically known as 'cimex lectularius,' 'cimex hemipterus,' and 'leptocimex boueti,' if you're being all scientific about it) started to reappear again in the 90s. These days, they're back, with infestations reported all over Europe and the U.S. including here in Minnesota.

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Pest control company, Orkin, says bed bugs are insects that come out of hiding at night to 'take blood meals from sleeping humans.' They're typically 3/16 inch long, are red to dark brown, and can spread easily by 'clinging to items such as luggage, purses and other personal belongings.'

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Macro picture of a bed bug (Thinkstock)
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Orkin released their latest list of the cities with the most bed bugs, and one Minnesota city was included. To compile the list, Orkin looked at residential and commercial data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatments from December 1, 2022 through November. 30, 2023.

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So which city here in the Bold North made Orkin's Most Bed Bug list? That would be Minnesota's largest city of Minneapolis, which made its inaugural appearance on the list at number 47 out of 50. Chicago topped the list, followed by New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Los Angeles. You can check out the entire list below:

ORKIN'S CITIES WITH THE MOST BED BUGS 

  1. Chicago, IL
  2. New York, NY
  3. Philadelphia, PA
  4. Cleveland-Akron, OH
  5. Los Angeles, CA
  6. Detroit, MMI
  7. Washington, D.C. (+2)
  8. Indianapolis, IN (-1)
  9. Charlotte, NC (+5)
  10. Champaign, IL (+1)
  11. Columbus, OH (-1)
  12. Cincinnati, OH (+1)
  13. Atlanta, GA (+3)
  14. Grand Rapids, MI (-2)
  15. Denver, CO
  16. Baltimore, MD (-8)
  17. Richmond, VA (+9)
  18. Greensboro, NC (+25)
  19. St. Louis. MO (+6)
  20. Youngstown, OH (+7)
  21. Pittsburgh, PA (-3)
  22. Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX (-5)
  23. Flint, MI (-2)
  24. Raleigh-Durham, NC (-4)
  25. Milwaukee, WI (+15)
  26. Charleston, WV (-7)
  27. Greenville, SC (-3)
  28. Norfolk, VA (-5)
  29. Davenport, IA (+8)
  30. Nashville, TN (+3)
  31. Tampa, FL (+10)
  32. Toledo, OH (+6)
  33. Dayton, OH (+1)
  34. Knoxville, TN (-4)
  35. Las Vegas, NV
  36. Omaha, NE (-4)
  37. South Bend, IN (-9)
  38. Houston, TX (+6)
  39. Cedar Rapids, MI (-8)
  40. Ft. Wayne, IN (-5)
  41. San Francisco, CA (-19)
  42. Buffalo, NY (-13)
  43. Harrisburg, PA (-7)
  44. Seattle, WA (-5)
  45. Miami, FL
  46. Orlando, FL (+1)
  47. Minneapolis, MN 
  48. Oklahoma City, OK
  49. Louisville, KY
  50. Lexington, KY (-4)

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Quiz: Do you know your state insect?

Stacker has used a variety of sources to compile a list of the official state insect(s) of each U.S. state, as well as their unique characteristics. Read on to see if you can guess which insect(s) represent your state. 

Gallery Credit: Andrew Vale

 

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