getting rid of bedbugs

Find ways to prevent bedbugs so infestations don't become a problem, and don't take infestations personally.

Sometimes fear of bedbugs causes more problems than the bugs do.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Bedbugs have become such a hot topic that they've sparked Top 10 lists, two to be exact. Two leading pest-control companies, Terminix and Orkin, have published lists of America's most bedbug-infested cities. And if you live in one of them, you may already know what it's like to deal with the creepy critters. Or maybe you're more familiar with the anxiety of wondering whether any of them have found their way into your home. In addition to being stubbornly resistant to the most reliable pest-control methods, they can take a serious emotional and psychological toll.

THE DETAILS: While the two lists disagree about who's at the top, both feature the same cities—those that see a lot of international travel, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles—and both agree that Ohio has the dubious distinction of being America's most infested state. (Keep in mind that cities made the lists based on calls to Terminix or Orkin offices in those cities, so a city's status will be affected by the concentration of a company’s offices there.)

The Terminix list:
1. New York
2. Philadelphia
3. Detroit
4. Cincinnati
5. Chicago
6. Denver
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Dayton, Ohio
9. Washington, DC
10. Los Angeles

The Orkin list:
1. Cincinnati
2. Columbus, Ohio
3. Chicago
4. Denver
5. Detroit
6. Washington, DC
7. New York
8. Philadelphia
9. Dayton, Ohio
10. Baltimore

"I do think that these surveys are reflective of cities with major bedbug issues," says Michael Potter, PhD, extension professor and bedbug expert from the University of Kentucky. "But as a practical matter, it hardly matters if this city or that was ranked 1, 3, 5, 10 or whatever. The problem is indeed getting very serious, and cities that have been relatively spared to this point can expect to deal with more problems in the future."

WHAT IT MEANS: For most people, the mere thought that their city made the list can trigger anxiety and panic attacks about every little itchy welt that could crop up. And people can get seemingly mixed messages about how serious the problem is. As public-health departments try to get people educated with somewhat alarming messages about what to do if bedbugs infest their homes—"always call an exterminator," and "the problem is too big to try to handle on your own"—they also continue to reiterate that, aside from leaving behind itchy bites, bedbugs are, for the most part, harmless. No studies have yet shown that they can carry or transmit diseases. Exterminators also feed the problem, says Elaine Rodino, PhD, a psychologist with a private practice in State College, Pennsylvania, who has friends who were affected by bedbugs recently. In their case, she says, "the exterminator was really helpful but also created a lot of further anxiety about how serious this all is," having the family wash everything they own and toss out some furniture.