* Atlanta had more calls for mosquitos than any other city
* 21 of the top 50 cities for mosquitos are in the southeast
* Mosquitoes spread the Zika virus
If you don’t like bug bites, stay out of Atlanta. According to data compiled by Orkin, the city had more service calls to deal with mosquitoes than any other city in the country. In total, 21 of the 50 highest ranking cities for mosquitoes are in the southeast.
“Mosquitoes are a public health threat,” says Orkin entomologist, 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.”
Mosquitoes are an issue across the U.S. and become more active as temperatures rise, with mosquito season often ranging from April to October. The CDC, meantime, has confirmed more than 5,000 Zika cases in the United States since January 2015, with more than 220 transmitted in the U.S.
Here’s a list of the 50 cities with the most mosquitoes, according to Orkin. Though you can’t exactly get rid of them, experts say the best way to avoid mosquitoes this season is to remove any standing water (I.e. in toys and buckets), keep pool water circulating and trim any shrubbery so there are no damp and leafy spots for the bugs to breed.
Cities With the Most Mosquitoes:
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Washington, D.C
3. Chicago, IL
4. New York, NY
5. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL
6. Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
7. Houston, TX
8. Detroit, MI
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Nashville, TN
11. Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL
12. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL
13. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA
14. Memphis, TN
15. Mobile-Pensacola, FL
16. West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL
17. Raleigh-Durham, NC
18. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
19. Boston, MA
20. Phoenix, AZ
21. Philadelphia PA
22. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, Asheville, NC
23. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
24. Kansas City, MO
25. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH
26. St. Louis, MO
27. New Orleans, LA
28. Baltimore, MD
29. Los Angeles, CA
30. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
31. Hartford-New Haven, CT
32. Lafayette, LA
33. Knoxville, TN
34. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
35. Indianapolis, IN
36. Birmingham, AL
37. Austin, TX
38. Cincinnati, OH
39. San Antonio, TX
40. Baton Rouge, LA
41. Charleston, SC
42. Shreveport, LA
43. Columbia, SC
44. Columbus, OH
45. Bangor, ME
46. Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI
47. Greensboro-High Pt.-Winston-Salem, NC
48. Myrtle Beach-Florence, SC
49. Tulsa, OK
50. Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR
