Seattle, Washington is Crawling With Bed Bugs – 107.9 LITE FM | World, Bed Bug Registry Map

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Summer travel season is right around the corner and AAA is already predicting which vacation destinations will be hot picks for Idahoans in 2024. As you make your plans, we just want to give you a heads up that four of those destinations, including one in the Pacific Northwest, appear on a list of Americas Bed Bug Capitals.

The good news is that while these tiny bugs are absolutely repulsive, theyre more annoying than dangerous. According to the CDC, theres a good chance that if you were a bed bugs snack overnight you may not know that when you wake up. Bed bugs inject humans with anesthetic and an anticoagulant, so their bites are unlikely to wake you up and or leave behind blood marks. Within a couple of days, those bites may swell or become itchy, like a mosquito bite would.

READ MORE: If You See Any of These 5 Bugs in Idaho, Kill Them Immediately

That said, bed bug bites can be linked to more serious, non-visible symptoms like insomnia and anxiety.

Thats a good question and probably the whole reason youre reading this article to begin with. When you travel to an area known for high infestations of bed bugs, you risk bringing them home to YOUR house. Bed bugs have skinny flat bodies, so the number of places they can hide and hitch a ride is nearly infinite.

Theyll get into the seams of your luggage, folds of your clothes or inside a pillowcase on the pillow you brought from home. They can survive for a while without feeding, so theyll just hang out until you unpack. When you least expect it, theyll emerge, bite you again and start spreading in your bedding, furniture or other areas of your home.

This list is important to pay attention to because bed bugs arent prejudiced. You may feel like youll avoid them by booking a fancy five-star hotel, but the truth is theyre just as likely to infest luxury accommodations as they are homeless shelters or college dorm rooms.

Like we mentioned, these guys are tiny so spotting them with the naked eye isnt easy. The CDC says that not only are they known to hide in the areas listed above, they can also hide in cracks, crevices, indentations in headboards or behind wallpaper while they wait to feed. The most tell-tale sign that a room has a bed bug problem is rusty colored blood spots on the mattress or furniture. You may also find their molted exoskeletons or smell a sweet, must odor.

While spotting them with your own eyes can be difficult, some of them can get as large as the size of Lincolns head on a penny, so its not impossible.

And that brings us to Orkins annual bed bug report, which ranks cities based on the number of bed bug treatments they performed between December 1, 2022 and November 30, 2023.

Four of the cities on AAAs list of the most popular Memorial Day Destinations for Idahoans overlap with the bed bug list. Denver is the 10th most popular destination and its ranks #15 on the bed rug report.

Seattle ranks eighth in popularity and #44 for bed bugs.

Dreams of a Disney vacation make Orlando the fifth most popular destination for Idahoans, but the city ranks #46 for bed bugs.

Finally, what happens in Vegas may stay in Vegasexcept for bed bugs. Vegas is the #3 destination from Idahoans and just ended up on the bed bug report for the first time, ranking #35.

Planning a trip elsewhere? Here's a look at Orkin's full list to help you prepare to be on the look out for signs of bed bug infestations when you arrive at your hotel or Airbnb.

Every year the pest control gurus at Orkin put together a list of the Top 50 Bed Bug Destinations in the United States. Which areas do you travel to that you should take extra care to watch out for these blood-sucking insects? Let's countdown to the most bed-bug-riddled city in the United States.

Gallery Credit: Scott Clow

Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart

According to statistics from the United States Department of Transportation, this is how the major airlines serving the Boise Airport ranked in terms of on-time departures in 2023.

Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart

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Seattle, Washington is Crawling With Bed Bugs - 107.9 LITE FM