A public nuisance.

That’s what several Chicago aldermen are calling bedbugs, and are considering ways on Tuesday to get rid of them.

A city council committee is looking at a proposal that would make landlords responsible for hiring licensed professionals to terminate any bedbug infestations. Those who don’t comply would face fines of up to $1,000 a day. Condo and co-op boards would also have to prepare pest management plans. Tenants would have to notify landlords if there’s a bedbug problem.

“We don’t want this problem to get any worse. So, I think it’s important that we are proactive and try to get something on the books. There are lots of other cities that do have ordinances and I think it’s important that Chicago does as well,” said Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward.

“I think the ordinance as it sits now is one-sided to forcing the property management do everything, but there’s no responsibilty built in for the titleist,” said Daniel Wondaal of Allied Services.

WGN News Writer C. Hayes published this report.

The City Council’s Health and Housing Committees will consider a proposed ordinance Tuesday making landlords responsible for wiping out bedbug infestations.

Three aldermen are pushing for the law, calling bed bugs a public nuisance.

Under the measure, landlords would be forced to hire professional exterminators or face fines of up to one thousand dollars a day.

Orkin pest control recently said it does more bed bug treatments in Chicago than any other major city.

Pest control company Orkin named Chicago the number one city for bed bugs on Tuesday. The company said it did more business in Chicago than any other city last year.

Bed bug spraying jumped by 33 percent last year, compared to the year before.

Chicago is ranked ahead of Detroit, Los Angeles and Denver.

The nation’s largest city, New York, ranked 10th on the list.