Michigan Bed Bugs: 4 Cities Crawling On the US 50 Most Infested

Just the thought of bed bugs makes many instantly want to check themselves and their belongings for these tiny, wingless, bloodsucking pests. Despite their universal loathing by all, bed bugs aren't going anywhere. In fact, with the recent uptick in travel post-pandemic, they can spread even faster.

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If you're unfamiliar with these credit card-thin, six-legged, vampires, here's a quick overview of just how these insects make life miserable, not only for those they've dined upon but for those who have to evict them.

How to Spot Bed Bugs When Traveling in Michigan

Bed bugs are tiny brown insects, on average, only 5 millimeters long, with oval-shaped bodies, and eat the blood of their victims while they sleep. Bed bugs aren't picky eaters, feeding on birds and mammals but, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they seem to prefer human blood.

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Because of their size, they usually only travel 5 to 20 feet for their food, so a hotel room or rental bedroom is just the right square footage. Their tiny bodies also make them hard to spot, so when checking your space it's easier to look for signs of their occupation than it is to see the individual insects:

• Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed.
• Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would.
• Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger.
• Live bed bugs.

The pest-busting pros at Orkin have provided another tool in the form of data. Every year they put together a list of the Top 50 Cities for Bed Bugs list, which draws data from the most bed bug treatments in a given year. So which Michigan cities made the list?