MONTREAL – Although bed bug rates in Montreal have remained stable for the past three years, the city believes that more should be done to protect tenants.
Between July 1, 2011 and April 30, 2013, 31,402 Montreal apartments were visited to determine the presence of bedbugs. Of those, 12,783 were treated for pests. The exterminations were mainly carried out in more densely populated buildings in Montreal neighbourhoods.
According to an Omnibus survey conducted on behalf of Montreal’s public health agency, the Direction de santé publique de l’Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal, 2.2 per cent of households in Montreal had bedbug problems in 2012, about the same percentage as in 2011 (2.8 per cent) and 2010 (2.7 per cent).
“It’s always the landlord’s responsibility to do fumigation.”
“Contrary to what we had feared, the number of Montreal households with bed bug problems did not increase over the past three years but remained stable, said Dr. Drouin, the head of Urban Environment and Health, in a statement.
“However, bed bugs remain a problem and we still plan to continue our efforts to evaluate the health impact of bed bugs and determine the best interventions to stop these pests from spreading.”
“Those little bed bugs, they move around. They don’t have addresses.”
France Emond from the Quebec Tenants Association said Tuesday that when the insects are discovered, it’s not enough to treat the apartment unit where they were found.
“All of the building has to be exterminated, not only one apartment,” she said. “Those little bed bugs, they move around. They don’t have addresses.”
Emond also noted who should foot the bill. “It’s always the landlord’s responsibility to do fumigation.”
“One of the city’s most important achievements was to make it mandatory for pest control managers to report their interventions, and to create a centralized database to help document the intensity, geographic distribution and evolution of bed bug infestation in residential buildings in Montreal,” Benoit Dorais, the vice-chairman of the Montreal Executive Committee, said in a statement.
The City of Montreal is running its awareness campaign in the lead up to moving day.
Quick tips to avoid bedbugs:
– don’t take old clothes, mattresses and upholstered furniture home
– when moving, take a few minutes to inspect nooks and crannies in the new to make sure it’s bed bug free
– on moving day, put clothing, bedding and curtains in sealed plastic bags when transporting
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