Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, folks, but it seems as though a whole lot of bed bugs have descended upon the capital city recently. New research from pest control connoisseurs has revealed the country’s ‘bed bug hotspots’ – and London is well-and-truly dominating the data.
Bedbug cases have reportedly risen by around 20% in London over the past year. This is thought to be down to the rise in travel and the pest’s increasing immunity to insecticides. According to JG Pest Control’s findings, there were almost 5,000 bed bug callouts across the UK in the past 12 months. And out of the 15 most affected areas of the country, a rather shudder-inducing 13 of them are here in London.
Islington topped the charts as the ‘bed bug capital’ of the UK, with 45 reported callouts in the past year. Following closely behind with 40 bed bug callouts in the past 12 months is Croydon, Whitechapel and Aldgate, Poplar and Canary Wharf, and Battersea. How lovely to see that they really have covered all bases, hey?
Many of the worst-affected areas are those that have a high volume of ‘fast-turnover rental housing’ or student accommodation. Bedbugs are able to hitch a ride in luggage, clothing, and second-hand furniture. JG Pest Control has advised Londoners to check their mattress seams, bed frames, and headboards for live pests. We should also be keeping an eye out for shed skins, ‘pepper-like droppings’, and bites on exposed skin in lines of three of four. If you spot an infestation of bed bugs, it’s pretty imperative that you act fast to resolve the issue as quickly (and affordably) as possible.
The UK’s top bed bug districts
- Islington (N1)
- Croydon (CR0)
- Whitechapel and Aldgate (E1)
- Poplar and Canary Wharf (E14)
- Battersea (SW11)
- Bow (E3)
- Tooting (SW17)
- Stoke Newington (N16)
- East Ham (E6)
- East Oxford (OX4)
- Tottenham (N17)
- Kilburn (NW6)
- Southwark and Borough (SE1)
- East Brighton (BN2)
- Bethnal Green (E2)
You can peruse JG Pest Control’s full findings here.
