LA ranks 10th on the list of the nation's cities with the most bedbugs

Terminix said Tuesday that New York ranks No. 1 in bedbug infestations, followed by Philadelphia and Detroit. Four Ohio cities make the top 14.

Los Angeles is No. 10. We edged out No. 11 Boston, presumably in a microscopic basketball game.

The report comes as exterminators and doctors say bedbugs and irritating bedbug bites are on the rise nationwide, probably because increasing numbers of world travelers spread the apple seed-size insects and environmental restrictions on pesticides make the rascals harder to fight.

"Five years ago, we did one (bedbug eradication) a year, and now we get five to 10 calls a week," said Bill Biers, owner of Conquer Pest Control in Granada Hills. "It's definitely a problem in the San Fernando Valley."

But, Biers said, it's nowhere near as big a problem in the Valley as in lower-income areas of Los Angeles, where residents are more likely to reuse bedbug-ridden furniture and mattresses.