Home / Health / Montreal Tenants Battle Extreme Bed Bug Infestation
Montreal Tenants Battle Extreme Bed Bug Infestation
22 Apr
Summary
- Tenants in a Montreal apartment building face severe infestations of bed bugs, rodents, and cockroaches.
- A non-profit is assisting with fumigation but cites lack of mandate and budget.
- Residents, many with health challenges, are left without adequate support or safe living conditions.
Tenants in a 44-unit subsidized housing building in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough are battling severe infestations of bed bugs, rodents, and cockroaches. Long-time resident Ameen Raa al-Khabyyr described years of struggling with pests in his apartment. The NDG Community Council has been working to address the issues since January after previous managers quit, discovering electrical problems and widespread infestations.
The situation has become so dire that local health services have suspended some cleaning due to contractors' lack of protective gear against bed bugs. Vacant units show extreme damage from pests, with mattresses blackened by droppings and evidence of bloodstains from insect bites. A generator has been installed for heat treatments, a process described as a major pest control case, seen only once or twice a year.
The non-profit owner, Logements Communautaires et Solidaires Grand (LCSG), and the former manager deny responsibility. The LCSG board, operating on volunteer efforts, feels overwhelmed by demands exceeding their capacity, especially given regulations from the Société d'habitation du Québec. They claim to have initiated pest control measures in 2022 but did not foresee the infestation's scale.
The NDG Community Council has committed $35,000 to fumigation but stresses the need for external help from the healthcare system to support residents facing physical and mental health challenges. Eight units are currently empty due to the poor living conditions. The regional health authority is aware and providing individual tenant support, while emphasizing that general services are accessible via 811.
