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You probably grew up with your parents telling you, "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite."
Bed bugs were a common occurrence in America back in the early 1900s. They were then mostly eradicated with the advanced use of pesticides for a good share of the century. As more and more immigrants moved to America from third-world countries in the late 1900s and the early 20th century, we have once again seen a bed bug explosion in America.
Macro photo of a bed bug
According toAmerican Pest, bed bugs were a problem all the way back to the days of Ancient Rome.
How does someone get bed bugs? Do they just show up in your home from the outside? No, they like places where lots of people tend to gather. Hotels, airports, movie theaters, or in high-traffic business areas. They'll often hitch a ride in purses, luggage, or even your body. YIKES!
Bed bugs are opportunistic insects that come out at night to feed on the blood of their hosts. Talk about terrifying. They are extremely small and very difficult to spot. They like to hide in mattresses or in cracks in windows, floors, or walls close to their next victim. They can survive several months without a meal, which makes them even more difficult to eradicate.
Bed bugs breed like rabbits and a female can lay thousands of eggs over the course of her lifetime.
Store-bought insecticides rarely work, which means you'll need a professional. This will turn into an expensive proposition for your family too. Depending on the size of your home, you could be looking at a bill from several hundred dollars to over a thousand bucks.
Did you know there is an actual "Bed Bug Awareness Week?"
Yep, and it begins on June 2nd, 2024. Pest Gnome, in the spirit of the season, decided to come out with 2024's Worst Cities for Bed Bug Infestations.
They ranked the top 500 biggest United States cities based on three categories, number of accommodations, multi-unit residential buildings, and population density.
Only two cities in North Dakota made the Top 500 list and one of them is crawling with bed bugs ranking very high in the top 60 cities. Any guess on which city?
North Dakota's most infested bed bug city is none other than FARGO!
It came in at #59.
Bismarck also made the list but much further down in the top 500 coming in at #302.
Other notable cities in our neighboring states to make the list include:
Minneapolis, Minnesota at #24.
St. Paul, Minnesota at #43.
Bloomington, Minnesota at #112.
Rochester, Minnesota at #134.
Duluth, Minnesota at #149.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota at #168.
Plymouth, Minnesota at #184.
Woodbury, Minnesota at #194.
Even though we only had two cities in North Dakota make the top 500, don't let that fool you. Bed bugs are present in just about every North Dakota city. You have been warned.
Again, sleep tight after reading this, and don't let the bedbugs bite.
Gallery Credit: Michelle Heart
See original here:
New Study Shows One North Dakota City Is Crawling With Bed Bugs - US 103.3
