Following yesterday’s UK university halls bed bug ranking, another bed bug “hotspot ranking” has landed. Pest control company JG Pest Control analysed a year of its own call-out records to compile the 15 worst-affected postcode districts in Britain: London’s Islington (N1) tops the list, with Croydon and Whitechapel close behind. One important caveat — the data reflects only one pest control company’s attended jobs, not official statistics.
Nearly 5,000 bed bug call-outs in a year
- JG Pest Control examined 34,776 call-outs with valid postcode districts between October 2025 and October 2026.
- 4,942 of those were bed bug-related, ranked by postcode district to produce the 15 biggest hotspots.
- The research was reported by the Wandsworth Times (20 October 2026); although its focus is on two Wandsworth areas, the full ranking covers the whole UK.
The 15 hotspots: 13 in London
- No. 1: Islington (N1) — the postcode district with the most bed bug call-outs in the UK.
- No. 2: Croydon (CR0); No. 3: Whitechapel & Aldgate (E1); No. 4: Poplar & Canary Wharf (E14).
- No. 5: Battersea (SW11), with 40 attended bed bug call-outs during the period — also one of the areas highlighted by the Wandsworth Times.
- No. 7: Tooting (SW17), also in Wandsworth, though the exact number of call-outs was not disclosed.
- The remaining hotspots: Bow (E3), Stoke Newington (N16), East Ham (E6), East Oxford (OX4), Tottenham (N17), Kilburn (NW6), Southwark & Borough (SE1), East Brighton (BN2) and Bethnal Green (E2).
13 of the 15 hotspots are in London — after yesterday’s UK university halls bed bug ranking, the capital is once again in the spotlight.
What kinds of areas are hit hardest?
- According to JG Pest Control, the worst-hit areas tend to share several traits: dense housing, busy rental markets, large student populations and strong transport links.
- Together these mean high population turnover and frequent tenant changes — bed bugs love hitching rides with people and luggage.
Data limits: one company’s figures only
- The report states plainly that the ranking is based solely on JG Pest Control’s own attended jobs — it excludes council complaints, NHS records and industry-wide figures.
- In other words, infestations handled by other companies or DIY treatments are not counted at all, and quieter regions may simply have fewer of this company’s customers.
- The same applies to yesterday’s university halls ranking: it was commissioned by mattress retailer MattressNextDay, compiled from FOI requests to 165 universities (105 responded), and is likewise not official statistics. Both are industry-sourced datasets — useful for trends, but not precise nationwide censuses.
What Hong Kong travellers and students should know
- Britain’s bed bug problem keeps escalating this year: earlier reports found cases up 40% year on year in some London areas (see our London bed bug surge report). With many Hong Kong residents heading to the UK around Christmas to visit family, travel or study, preparation matters.
- Before your trip, read the travel bed bug checklist — inspect the mattress, headboard and wall crevices when you check in, and never place luggage on the floor by the bed.
- Check your luggage and heat-treat clothing as soon as you’re home; to understand why bed bugs are getting harder to kill, see super bed bug insecticide resistance.
- If you do bring them home, the DIY bed bug removal guide walks through the full treatment process.
Sources
- Wandsworth Times (20 October 2026) — Wandsworth areas named among UK bed bug hotspots
(Written 1 November 2026, compiled from the Wandsworth Times report. The ranking reflects JG Pest Control’s own call-out data only, and excludes official or industry-wide figures.)