UK Pest Control Statistics by Region

Wednesday 21/10/2026

The pests you deal with depend on where you live. PestFix mapped two years of online orders, from September 2024 to August 2026, to the first letters of the delivery postcode, revealing a country divided into bird towns, rat towns and insect towns.

Truro, Brighton, Tonbridge, Plymouth and Glasgow have the most online pest control orders. Newcastle and Edinburgh buy the most bird control compared to their total orders, and Glasgow tops the table for rodent control.

The top fifteen

Truro (TR) leads the country with 393 online orders, followed by Brighton (BN, 356), Tonbridge (TN, 315), Plymouth (PL, 280) and Glasgow (G, 265). Other areas with high order numbers include Canterbury, Chelmsford, Guildford, south-east and south-west London, Newcastle, Peterborough, Torquay, Edinburgh and Bristol. Adjusted for population, Cornwall and the south coast stand out, with more pest control orders per household than many of the big cities.

Bird towns

Bird control makes up 45 per cent of Newcastle's orders, 40 per cent of Edinburgh's, 39 per cent of Brighton's and south-west London's, and 38 per cent of Truro's and Peterborough's. Coastal areas see more bird problems because of herring gulls and feral pigeons on roofs, chimneys, balconies, and solar panels. Peterborough is the exception inland, with gulls on commercial roofs and pigeons on Victorian terraces.

Rat towns

Glasgow has the highest share of rodent control orders, with rat and mouse products making up 29 per cent of its total. Canterbury and Guildford follow with 25 per cent each. Factors like dense Victorian housing, old drains, and mild, wet winters contribute to the problem.

Insect towns

Guildford (17 per cent) and Canterbury (15 per cent) have the highest share of insect control orders. Most of these are for ants and wasps in the summer and bed bugs in the autumn. This pattern is common in commuter towns with warm lofts and frequent travel.

What it means

For coastal councils and landlords, bird proofing is needed all year. Solar panels have created new nesting spots on many roofs. Gull and pigeon proofing is a specialist job; JG Pest Control's gull page sets out what it involves.

In Glasgow and other older cities, start with proofing before using poisons. Use mesh, sealant and lockable bait stations, and arrange a survey for an ongoing problem. Pest controllers such as JG Pest Control cover the south east and beyond.

In London, the two areas in the top fifteen include many offices, restaurants, and managed apartment blocks, not just homes. For commercial properties, Nightshift Pest Control provides services across the city at all hours.

For those in the commuter belt, check your luggage after travelling. To treat ants, use gel bait at the nest instead of spray.

About the data

Source: PestFix sales data, January 2019 to September 2026. PestFix, Chichester, supplies professional and DIY pest control products across the UK. Orders are online orders mapped to the postcode area (the letters before the numbers) of the delivery address, with no address or customer detail used. Shares are of each area's own orders.