Thousands of travellers in the US hoped the bedbugs wouldn’t bite this summer but reports show that they did, at an outstanding rate.

In the wake of the 2010 bedbug epidemic the number of bedbug reports for 2011 (January 1 to September 1) shattered 2010 totals by more than 660 per cent.

Since the beginning of the year reports of travellers’ encounters with bedbugs have trickled into Raveable.com, which compiles reports from users. Since 2010 the number of individual hotels with bedbugs has risen 250 per cent, showing that bedbugs aren’t last year’s issue.

Las Vegas reported a 330 per cent increase in reports, Los Angeles a 329 per cent increase, Orlando 317 per cent and New York 135 per cent.

“It is a groundbreaking year for bedbugs,” says Philip Vaughn, CEO of Kirkland hotel review website Raveable.com, who notes that some of the most popular summer destinations are the hardest hit by hotel bedbug infestations. Last September and October reeled in some of the highest numbers of bedbug reports.

This autumn is projected to be worse. As the bedbugs enjoy the late summer travel season, travellers can do nothing but arm themselves with information and hope they will not become another statistic.

Travellers to the US concerned about bed bugs can “look before they book” by checking out Raveable’s ‘Bed Bugs in Hotels’ resource page, which provides links to city-specific bedbug data and gives tips on how to stay safe during their stay.