Based on 36,515 pest control call-outs with a valid postcode district, booked in the 12 months to November 2026. Bed bugs accounted for 5,165 of those call-outs, and London dominates the national picture.
As featured in Wandsworth Times. “Wandsworth areas named among UK bed bug hotspots” (Wandsworth Times, 20 October 2026) used this data on Battersea and Tooting.
As featured in News Shopper. “Southwark among South London boroughs hit worst by bedbugs” (News Shopper, 20 October 2026) used this data on London’s bed bug hotspots.
As featured in Your Local Guardian. “Croydon ranked UK’s second worst bed bug hotspot in new data” (Your Local Guardian, 19 October 2026) used this data on London’s bed bug hotspots.
As featured in The Sun. “UK’s bedbug hotspots revealed as ‘mutant’ critters swarm homes, offices & trains with Europe hitting ‘peak’ infestation” (The Sun, 16 October 2026) used this data on bed bug call-outs across London and the UK.
As featured in The Sun. “The ultimate guide to avoiding bed bugs as Europe hits ‘peak’ infestations” (The Sun, 16 October 2026) quoted JG Pest Control’s managing director on bed bug call-outs.
As featured in The Spectator. “Is London at ‘peak bedbug’?” (The Spectator, 15 October 2026) linked to this data on call-outs from Islington and Croydon.
As featured in Secret London. “Bed bug callouts have surged in London - and these are the postcodes most affected by infestations” (Secret London, 14 October 2026) used this data and links to these findings.
As featured by Metro. Metro UK’s Instagram reel on London’s bed bug hotspots (14 October 2026) used this data, naming Islington as the capital’s top district.
As featured in The Times. “Britain hits ‘peak bedbug’ as train and office infestations soar” (The Times, 13 October 2026) quoted JG Pest Control’s managing director on bed bug call-outs.
As featured on GB News. “Bedbugs overrun Britain after developing resistance to pesticides as train and office infestations soar” (GB News, 14 October 2026) quoted our managing director on London as the UK’s bed bug hotspot.
As featured in Eastlondonlines. “New data reveals ‘bedbug hotspots’ across ELL boroughs” (Eastlondonlines, 13 October 2026) used this data to map bed bug call-outs across east and south London boroughs.
As featured in the Evening Standard. “London’s biggest bed bug hotspots revealed as capital dominates UK call-outs league table” (Evening Standard, 5 October 2026) drew on this data, reporting London’s lead in the UK bed bug call-out table.
As featured in The Times. “Why we’ve seen fewer wasps this summer - but more rats, mice and ants” (The Times, 7 August 2026) drew on this data, naming Islington, Whitechapel and Croydon among the UK’s bed bug hotspots.
Bed bugs are London’s pest. Our group took 5,165 bed bug call-outs across the UK in the last 12 months, and the capital’s postcodes fill the top of the table: south-east London (SE) leads on 352 call-outs, with south-west (SW) on 333, east (E) on 330 and north (N) on 264. No other British city comes close.
Key findings
- Islington (N1) is London’s bed bug capital, with 44 booked call-outs in the 12 months to November 2026, ahead of Croydon (CR0) on 39, and Poplar and Canary Wharf (E14) and Battersea (SW11) on 36 each (JG Pest Control call-out data).
- South-east London (SE) is the busiest postcode area in the UK for bed bugs, with 352 call-outs in 12 months, just ahead of south-west London (SW, 333).
- Only one district outside Greater London makes the UK’s top 15: east Oxford (OX4, 29 call-outs). The other 14 are all in the capital.
- Grouped central London codes hold their own: EC1 logs 31 call-outs, W1 26 and WC1 19.
- Outside London, Birmingham (B, 131) and the Brighton area (BN, 122) lead the country.
The UK’s top 15 bed bug districts
| District | Area | Call-outs (12 months) |
|---|---|---|
| N1 | Islington | 44 |
| CR0 | Croydon | 39 |
| E14 | Poplar and Canary Wharf | 36 |
| SW11 | Battersea | 36 |
| E1 | Whitechapel and Aldgate | 35 |
| SW17 | Tooting | 35 |
| E3 | Bow | 34 |
| NW6 | Kilburn | 32 |
| N16 | Stoke Newington | 31 |
| E6 | East Ham | 30 |
| N17 | Tottenham | 29 |
| OX4 | east Oxford (outside London) | 29 |
| SE15 | Peckham | 28 |
| SE5 | Camberwell | 27 |
| SW18 | Wandsworth | 27 |
What the map shows
The pattern is a ring around a busy core. The busiest single districts - Islington (N1), then Croydon (CR0), with Poplar (E14) and Battersea (SW11) level on 36 and Whitechapel (E1) and Tooting (SW17) one call-out behind - form a band of dense, fast-turnover rental housing around the centre. Central London is just as active once its patchwork of micro-districts is read together: on the map we group the lettered codes into their parents, and grouped EC1 (Clerkenwell and the City fringe) logs 31 call-outs, W1 (the West End) 26, WC1 (Bloomsbury) 19 and SW1 (Westminster and Victoria) 15.
East Oxford (OX4) is the only district outside Greater London to break into the UK’s top 15 - a dense student and private-rental quarter, and a reminder that bed bugs follow turnover of people rather than city limits. They spread through luggage, transport and second-hand furniture, so the busiest districts are the best connected ones.
The UK picture
Nearly half of the bed bug treatments carried out by JG Pest Control and its group brands are heat treatments. See the bed bug heat treatment hotspots.
In a hotspot? What to do
Check mattress seams, bed frames and headboards for live insects, shed skins and the tell-tale pepper-like droppings. Bites in lines of three or four along exposed skin are another early sign - our guide to the signs of bed bugs covers what to look for.
If you find them, act fast: a light infestation is dramatically cheaper and quicker to resolve than an established one. JG Pest Control and its group brands carried out more than 1,800 bed bug heat treatments in the 12 months to September 2026 - one whole-room treatment kills every life stage, including eggs, in a single visit - and our K9 detection dogs can confirm whether an infestation is active before you commit to treatment. For same-day help anywhere in the capital, see our London bed bug treatment service. We are open every day except Christmas Day, early until late.
Comparability. This page moved to a live extract of our job records in September 2026 and now counts only the 16 pest categories we publish. The headline total is therefore not directly comparable with the 39,204 shown on earlier versions of this page, which drew on a wider job set.
Use this map
Journalists, councils, schools and websites are welcome to embed our interactive bed bug map of London. Copy the code below into your page. It works on phones and desktops, and has no cookies or tracking inside it. The map updates each month with our latest figures.
Please credit "Data: JG Pest Control" with a link to this page. You can open the map full screen, or show any other pest by changing pest=Bed%20Bugs in the code (for example pest=Rats). Prefer to draw your own graphic? Download the data by postcode district (CSV). For anything else, see our press page.
Frequently asked questions
In our call-out data for the 12 months to November 2026, N1 (Islington) tops the table with 44 booked bed bug call-outs, followed by CR0 (Croydon) on 39, then E14 (Poplar and Canary Wharf) and SW11 (Battersea) on 36 each.
Density of flats and shared housing, a fast-moving rental market, and heavy commuter and visitor traffic all help bed bugs spread. They travel in luggage, second-hand furniture and clothing, so districts with high turnover of people see more infestations.
No. The hotspot map reflects where treatments are most often needed, not an inevitability. It does mean it pays to check mattress seams and headboards regularly, and to be careful with second-hand furniture and luggage after travel.
Professional treatment is the only reliable route for an established infestation. JG Pest Control and its group brands carried out more than 1,800 bed bug heat treatments in the 12 months to September 2026 - a single whole-room heat treatment kills adults, nymphs and eggs in one visit, without repeat chemical applications.