Bed bugs are extremely common. After nearly disappearing from developed countries in the mid-20th century, they’ve surged back over the past two decades and now infest every continent except Antarctica. In the United States alone, pest control companies treat hundreds of thousands of cases each year, and one in five Americans has either dealt with a bed bug infestation personally or knows someone who has.
How Widespread Are Bed Bugs in the U.S.?
Bed bugs have been reported in all 50 states, and infestations are concentrated in dense urban areas where people live close together and travel frequently. Orkin, one of the largest pest control companies in the country, ranks cities annually by treatment volume. In 2024, the top five cities for bed bug treatments were Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland-Akron, and Los Angeles. Chicago has held the top spot for years running.
These rankings reflect treatment calls rather than total infestations, so the real numbers are higher. Many people attempt to handle bed bugs on their own or simply don’t report them. Renters in particular may avoid reporting for fear of being blamed or evicted. Estimates suggest that for every infestation a pest control company treats, several more go unreported.
Bed bugs are not limited to any income level or housing type. They show up in five-star hotels, college dormitories, hospitals, movie theaters, office buildings, and public transit. They spread by hitching rides on luggage, clothing, and used furniture. A single pregnant female can start a full-blown infestation within weeks.
The Global Picture
The resurgence isn’t just an American problem. The United Kingdom, France, Australia, and China have all seen steady year-over-year increases in confirmed cases. Research tracking confirmed bed bug cases treated by local authorities in three major UK cities (Birmingham, Manchester, and Sheffield) between 2009 and 2015 found consistent growth over that period. In 2023, Paris made international headlines when bed bugs were found on trains, in cinemas, and reportedly at hospitals, prompting a national response ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
Studies from the U.S., Australia, and China all show the same seasonal pattern: infestations peak in summer and early fall, when warmer temperatures speed up bed bug reproduction and travel activity is highest. In the Southern Hemisphere, this pattern flips accordingly. The consistency across continents underscores that this is a global issue driven by the same factors everywhere: international travel, urbanization, and insecticide resistance.
Why the Numbers Keep Rising
The single biggest reason bed bugs are so hard to control is that most populations have developed resistance to the most commonly used insecticides. Pyrethroids, the class of chemicals found in the majority of consumer sprays and many professional treatments, are increasingly ineffective. Research on bed bug populations in Greek cities found that a key resistance mutation had reached 100% prevalence in some populations, meaning every single bug tested carried the gene. In Athens, that same mutation was present in over 98% of bugs sampled.
This resistance is not unique to Greece. Studies across the U.S., Europe, and Asia have found similar patterns. When you spray a colony with a product they’re resistant to, you kill the few susceptible individuals and leave the resistant ones to reproduce. Over time, the entire population becomes immune to that chemical. This is why over-the-counter bed bug sprays so often fail, and why infestations that seem to go away frequently come roaring back.
Other factors fueling the spread include increased international travel, the popularity of secondhand furniture marketplaces, and the decline of older (now-banned) pesticides that were more broadly effective. Bed bugs also reproduce quickly. A single female lays one to five eggs per day, and those eggs hatch in about six to ten days under normal room temperatures.
Where You’re Most Likely to Encounter Them
Your risk depends largely on how often you’re exposed to new environments. Hotels and short-term rentals are among the most common pickup points. Bed bugs crawl into suitcases and travel home with you. Multi-unit apartment buildings are another hotspot because the bugs move between units through walls, electrical outlets, and plumbing gaps. Treating one apartment without treating neighboring units often leads to reinfestation.
Other high-risk settings include:
- Public transportation: trains, buses, and airplane seats
- Secondhand furniture: especially mattresses, couches, and upholstered chairs
- Shared laundry facilities
- Hospitals and nursing homes: anywhere with high turnover of people and linens
Bed bugs don’t fly or jump. They crawl, and they’re attracted to carbon dioxide and body heat while you sleep. They can survive for months without feeding, which means an empty apartment or a stored piece of furniture can still harbor live bugs long after the last person left.
What It Costs to Get Rid of Them
Professional extermination is expensive, which is another reason many infestations go untreated and continue to spread. As of 2025, chemical treatments typically run between $1,000 and $3,000, while heat treatments (which raise the room temperature high enough to kill bugs at all life stages) cost $2,000 to $4,500. The price depends on the size of the space, the severity of the infestation, and whether multiple treatments are needed.
Heat treatment is generally considered more effective in a single session because it kills eggs that chemical treatments can miss. However, neither method guarantees success if the source of reinfestation isn’t addressed. In apartment buildings, this often means coordinating treatment across multiple units simultaneously.
Signs You Might Have Them
The most common first sign is waking up with small, itchy red bites in clusters or lines, typically on exposed skin like arms, shoulders, and legs. Not everyone reacts to bed bug bites, though. Some people show no marks at all, which means an infestation can grow undetected for weeks or months.
Other signs to look for include tiny rust-colored stains on sheets (from crushed bugs or their droppings), small dark spots along mattress seams, and a faint musty odor in severe cases. The bugs themselves are about the size and shape of an apple seed, flat and reddish-brown. They hide during the day in mattress seams, bed frames, headboards, and any crack or crevice within a few feet of where someone sleeps.
If you spot any of these signs, acting quickly matters. A small infestation caught early is far cheaper and easier to eliminate than one that has spread through a home for months.