I have been lucky that I have never had to deal with bed bugs, but if you travel to one of these three Illinois cities you might want to check that hotel bed.

Get our free mobile app

For the third year in a row, Orkin placed Chicago as the top city out of 50 for the worst bed bug sitings. Not a great look for the most romantic and most traveled city in the nation. With so many people traveling to Chicago, whether you staying in a hotel or Airbnb, it seems that bed bugs are a real issue in the Windy City.

What are Bed Bugs?

The CDC describes bed bugs as,

small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, range from 1mm to 7mm (roughly the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny), and can live several months without a blood meal.

They are hard to find and hard to get rid of. Mostly found in beds, these invasive insects hide in the seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, and those hard-to-see areas of a bed. They travel most at night, but when a human is sleeping they tend to travel within 8 feet of where you sleep. So gross!

Bed Bugs Travel

They can be transferred from bed to bed so if you happen to stay somewhere that does have a bed bug problem you might travel home with these little guys. They can attach to luggage, overnight bags, folded clothes, and anywhere that they can find to hide as you travel home

If there is any good news about these little creatures is that they don't read any diseases, but can cause the skin to be red, irritated, and itchy. They are hard to find and you will need to call experts to get rid of these pests.

Also making the list Champaign (ranked 11th) and Peoria (moved down three spots and ranked now at 48). I might have to start bringing a magnifying glass with me when I travel to places.