Orkin’s Top 50 Mosquito Cities

The Atlanta area tops Orkin’s list of Top 50 Mosquito Cities for the fourth year in a row. Atlanta is followed on the list by Washington, DC and Chicago. Twenty-one metro areas in the Southeast are included in the ranking, which is the most of any region in the United States.

“Mosquitoes are a public health threat,” says Orkin entomologist Dr. Mark Beavers. “Zika virus is currently one of the most notable illnesses that can be spread by mosquitoes, and it will likely be a problem again this year, especially in areas where the type of mosquito that can carry the virus thrives.”

Dr. Beavers recently participated in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2017 Aedes Vector Control Summit, a forum dedicated to improving mosquito control methods and reducing the risk of diseases such as Zika.

Mosquitoes are an issue across the U.S. and become more active as temperatures rise, with mosquito season often ranging from April to October.

Orkin’s Top 50 Mosquito Cities list ranks metro areas by the number of mosquito customers served from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. The list includes both residential and commercial treatments.

1. Atlanta
2. Washington, D.C. (+1)
3. Chicago (-1)
4. New York (+1)
5. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (+8)
6. Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
7. Houston (+5)
8. Detroit (-4)
9. Charlotte, N.C. (-1)
10. Nashville, Tenn. (-3)
11. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (+11)
12. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla. (+11)
13. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, Va. (+1)
14. Memphis, Tenn. (-3)
15. Mobile-Pensacola, Fla. (+11)
16. West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla. (+15)
17. Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (-8)
18. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich. (-3)
19. Boston (-9)
20. Phoenix, Ariz.
21. Philadelphia (+9)
22. Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., Asheville, N.C (-6)
23. Richmond-Petersburg, Va. (-2)
24. Kansas City, Mo. (+25)
25. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio (-7)
26. St. Louis, Mo.
27. New Orleans, La. (+16)
28. Baltimore, Md. (+9)
29. Los Angeles
30. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. (-11)
31. Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (-8)
32. Lafayette, La. (+12)
33. Knoxville, Tenn. (+1)
34. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (-17)
35. Indianapolis, Ind. (-8)
36. Birmingham, Ala. (+11)
37. Austin, Texas (+11)
38. Cincinnati, Ohio (+7)
39. San Antonio, Texas
40. Baton Rouge, La.
41. Charleston, S.C. (-16)
42. Shreveport, La.
43. Columbia, S.C.
44. Columbus, Ohio (-12)
45. Bangor, Maine (-16)
46. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich. (-18)
47. Greensboro-High Pt.-Winston-Salem, N.C. (-9)
48. Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C. (-2)
49. Tulsa, Okla. (-13)
50. Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.

Despite the emergence of Zika virus in recent years, many Americans remain unconcerned. A recent Gallup poll found that 90 percent of Americans believe they are unlikely to contract Zika virus, but the CDC has confirmed more than 5,000 cases in the United States since January 2015, with more than 220 transmitted in the U.S.