Colorado’s urban centers face a mounting bed bug crisis, with Denver leading the charge according to recent Orkin rankings, while nearby cities like Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Pueblo report surging infestations and extermination efforts.
These resilient pests thrive in high-traffic areas, spreading through travel, rentals, and secondhand goods, prompting local pest control companies to ramp up heat treatments and inspections. As of 2025, Orkin’s data highlights a 12-15% national increase in treatments, with Colorado’s mild climate worsening the spread.
Denver’s Top-Ranked Battle
Denver climbed to #14 on Orkin’s 2025 list of worst U.S. cities for bed bugs, up from #15 the prior year, based on treatment calls from late 2023 to 2024.
Factors include 31 million annual tourists via Denver International Airport, dense apartments in LoDo, Capitol Hill, and RiNo, and hotels in Cherry Creek, where bed bugs hitchhike in luggage. HotBugz reports 65% of cases from multi-unit housing and a 30% inquiry rise in suburbs like Aurora and Lakewood, with costs exceeding $2,000 per home for extermination.…