Bed bugs have overtaken bees, rats and mice to become the pest people in Oldham are looking to exterminate.

According to information released by Oldham Council, views on the council’s ‘Bed Bugs’ page have shot up in recent weeks.

While just six people viewed the page in the first week of June, nearly 30 individual users viewed the Bed Bugs page on the council’s website last week.

It has meant bed bugs took the top spot last week, ahead of rats, fleas, mice, and bees and wasps.

It comes after claims that a bed bug was spotted on the 59 bus travelling to Oldham Mumps earlier this month, and an Oldham pest control firm saying calls about the pest had shot up 40 per cent in the space of a month.

In June, Oldham Council launched a free pest control service for Oldham homes, as Oldhamers complained about the struggle to get rid of rats, cockroaches and other pests from their homes.

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Views for information about bed bugs have not yet reached the summer highs of bees and wasps, with upwards of 70 people viewing information on how to control the insects on some weeks in May, July, and September.

Since February 2023, a cumulative 370 weekly users have been counted viewing the bed bugs page, putting the pest in fourth place among Oldhamers.

The top spot is taken by bees and wasps, with 1,120, followed by rats at 988, and mice at 474.

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Fleas come in at 257, while carpet beetles take sixth spot at 156, followed by silverfish (131), biscuit beetles (121), cockroaches (106), and squirrels in last place with 97.

The most popular week for pests was the last week of June, with a total of 188 different users looking to Oldham Council on how to get rid of different pests, with 55 searching for information on ridding themselves of bees and wasps, and 52 looking to get rid of rats. That week, just 10 were looking to get rid of bed bugs.