If you find bed bugs in a Baltimore apartment or rowhouse unit, do not move your bedding to another room or throw out furniture. Confirm the pest, tell your landlord or manager in writing, wash and heat-dry fabrics, and call a technician. Shared walls mean neighbouring units may need to be checked too.
Key takeaways
- Orkin's 2025 list of top bed bug cities ranked the Baltimore area No. 11, based on that company's own treatment counts from May 2024 to May 2025. It measures one company's work, not how many homes are infested.
- Bed bugs are a recurring problem in dense rentals and buildings with shared walls and heavy turnover, because they travel on belongings and through cracks, not because of dirty homes.
- Do not move to another room, spray store-bought foggers, or carry infested furniture out through shared halls. Those steps often spread the problem.
- Heat and conventional treatments both work when done properly. Which fits depends on the unit, the severity, how well you can prepare, and what can be heated.
- In a rental, tell your landlord or building manager early and in writing, and ask whether neighbouring units are being checked. A single-unit treatment may not hold if bugs are coming through the wall.
- Expect follow-up. Bed bugs rarely disappear after a single visit, and a technician should explain the plan and confirm the price before any work starts.
How do I know it is bed bugs and not something else?
Bed bugs are small, flat, reddish-brown insects about the size of an apple seed. Signs include tiny dark spots on mattress seams, shed skins, small blood spots on sheets and live bugs in seams, headboards and cracks. Bites alone are not proof, since many things cause itchy welts. Finding the insect confirms it.
Bites are a poor way to diagnose bed bugs. Reactions vary between people and some people barely react, so the same bug can leave welts on one person and nothing on the person next to them. Fleas, mosquitoes and allergies can all look similar. What settles it is finding the insect or its evidence.
Look along the seams and piping of the mattress and box spring, behind the headboard, inside bed frame joints, at the edges of carpet and along baseboards near the bed. A flashlight and a credit card to run along a crack help. Bed bugs hide close to where people sleep, so the bed and nearby furniture are the first places to check.
If you are not sure, keep a specimen in a sealed jar or on clear tape and show it to a technician. A correct identification matters because the treatment for bed bugs is quite different from the treatment for fleas, carpet beetles or roaches.
Why are bed bugs such a repeating problem in Baltimore rentals?
Bed bugs spread through belongings and shared structure, and dense rental housing has both. Heavy turnover, secondhand furniture, shared walls and shared laundry give them many ways to move. Orkin's 2025 list put the Baltimore area at No. 11 by its own treatment counts. That says something about activity, not about any one building.
Rentals in Baltimore range from converted rowhouses with a unit on each floor to apartment blocks. In these buildings, people move in and out, furniture changes hands, and walls, pipes and floors connect homes. None of that is anyone's fault, but each of them is a route.
A word about the ranking. Orkin's Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list for 2025 placed Baltimore at No. 11, up five spots, based on Orkin treatment data from May 2024 to May 2025. Earlier lists have had Baltimore higher, but the exact years vary by source, so we do not rely on them. The list measures one company's treatments and not the rate of infestation. Treat it as a hint that the problem is real in the region, not as a score for your building.
Bed bugs are not a sign of poor housekeeping. They are attracted to people, not to dirt, and they turn up in tidy homes, hotels and offices. What increases the risk is travel, secondhand furniture, and neighbours who have them. See our page on bed bug treatment for how a visit works.
What should I do first when I find bed bugs in a rental?
Stay calm and keep sleeping in the same bed. Confirm the pest, take photos, tell your landlord or building manager in writing, and bag and heat-dry washable fabrics. Do not buy foggers or move to the couch or another room, since that can scatter the bugs. Then call a technician for an inspection.
The instinct to flee the bed is strong, and it is the wrong move. Bed bugs follow their food source, which is you. If you sleep elsewhere, they may spread to the new spot, and you gain nothing. Keep sleeping in the bed while you arrange treatment, and protect it as described below.
Take these steps in order:
- Photograph the bugs, skins and spots, and keep a specimen if you can.
- Tell your landlord or manager promptly and in writing. Keep a copy, with the date.
- Wash bedding, curtains and clothing in hot water if the label allows, then dry on high heat for a good while. Heat in the dryer is what does the work.
- Put cleaned items in sealed plastic bags or bins so they are not reinfested.
- Vacuum the mattress seams, bed frame and floor edges, then empty the vacuum into a sealed bag outside.
- Consider mattress and box spring encasements made for bed bugs, which trap bugs inside and remove hiding places.
- Do not carry infested furniture through shared halls or leave it on the curb unwrapped, since this can spread bugs to neighbours.
- Call a technician for an inspection before you throw anything away.
How do heat and conventional treatments compare?
Heat treatment raises the temperature of a room or unit to a level that kills bed bugs in a single long visit but needs careful preparation and equipment. Conventional treatment applies targeted products over several visits. Both can work. The choice depends on the unit, severity, what can be heated and how well the site is prepared.
Neither method is magic, and neither is right for every home. A technician should explain why they recommend one and what you need to do to get the best result. The table shows the main differences, in general terms and without prices, because the price is confirmed on site and depends on the unit.
Whichever you choose, ask what happens afterwards. Most plans include a follow-up inspection, because bugs and eggs can survive in a spot that was missed, and because a neighbouring unit can reintroduce them.
| Factor | Heat treatment | Conventional treatment |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Equipment raises the temperature of the room or unit so bugs and eggs are killed by heat. | Products are applied to cracks, seams, furniture and other hiding places, often with other tools. |
| Number of visits | Can be done in one long visit, with a follow-up check. | Usually several visits over a period of weeks. |
| Preparation | Heat-sensitive items such as candles, some electronics and aerosol cans need to be removed or handled. | Laundering, decluttering and moving furniture away from walls are the main tasks. |
| Reach into walls | Heat can penetrate voids, but uneven heating and cold spots need to be managed. | Products can be placed into voids and cracks, but only where they can be reached. |
| Suits | Heavier infestations, or when speed matters, in a unit that can be prepared properly. | Lighter infestations, units with heat-sensitive contents, or as part of a layered plan. |
| Maryland licensing | A business using devices that use heat needs a pesticide business license from the Maryland Department of Agriculture. | A business applying pesticides in structures needs the same license, with certified applicators. |
Who pays for bed bug treatment in a Baltimore rental?
It depends on your lease and on Baltimore's rules, which differ for tenants and landlords and which we are not quoting here. In practice, report the problem to your landlord promptly and in writing, keep records, and ask the city or a tenant resource about your rights. Do not wait, because delay lets bugs spread.
Tenants and landlords in Baltimore have rules about pests. We have not verified the details, so we will not cite code sections or say who must pay. Check your lease, ask the city, or speak to a tenant resource. Our guide to renting in Baltimore and who handles the pests walks through practical steps in more detail.
Landlords and property managers who are reading this should know that early action is almost always cheaper than waiting. A single unit caught early is a small job. A floor of units is a large one. Our rental property pest control page explains how work in multi-unit buildings is usually organised.
If you are ready to talk to someone about what you are seeing, call (855) 974-4733.
How do I avoid bringing bed bugs home?
Inspect secondhand furniture and mattresses before bringing them in, check hotel beds, keep luggage off the bed, and wash and heat-dry clothes after trips. Holiday and travel seasons, and moving season in summer, can raise the risk. Prevention is mostly habits, not products.
A few habits help. Check the seams of any used furniture in good light, and be wary of anything left at a curb. After travel, unpack on a hard floor or in the bathroom and put clothes straight into the dryer. If you move, inspect boxes and furniture at both ends. In shared buildings, wash laundry at home when you can and carry it in sealed bags.
Remember that none of these steps guarantees you will never see a bed bug. If you do, early detection makes the job smaller.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get rid of bed bugs myself?
Washing and heat-drying fabrics and using encasements helps, but bed bugs hide in furniture, cracks and wall voids that home methods rarely reach. Store-bought sprays and foggers can scatter them. A technician can inspect, choose a method and plan follow-up visits.
Do bed bugs mean my home is dirty?
No. Bed bugs are drawn to people, not dirt, and they turn up in clean homes, hotels and offices. They spread through belongings and shared structures. Decluttering helps treatment, but cleanliness did not cause the problem.
How many visits does bed bug treatment take?
It depends on the method and severity. Heat can be done in one long visit with a follow-up check, and conventional treatment usually takes several visits over weeks. A technician should explain the plan and confirm the price before starting.
Should I throw out my mattress?
Usually not at first. A mattress can often be treated and sealed in a bed bug encasement. Throwing it out on the curb unwrapped can spread bugs, and a new mattress will be infested again if the source remains. Ask a technician before discarding anything.
What if my neighbours have bed bugs too?
Then treating only your unit may not hold, because bugs can move through shared walls. Tell your landlord or building manager in writing and ask that adjoining units be inspected. A technician can explain what to check and where.
Does Baltimore really rank high for bed bugs?
Orkin's 2025 list put the Baltimore area at No. 11, based on its own treatment counts from May 2024 to May 2025. That measures one company's work, not how common bed bugs are in total, so treat it as a rough indicator only.
Sources
- Orkin – Chicago Tops Orkin's 2025 Bed Bug Cities List Again (press release via Seeking Alpha)
- Maryland Department of Agriculture – Pesticide Applicator Certification and Business Licensing Requirements
- Wikipedia – Bed bug
This guide is general information for Baltimore City homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.