Mice, rats, roaches: Keeping pests at bay an ongoing challenge for Montreal hospitals
Aging buildings, construction and flow of people create opportunities for bugs, rodents to get inside
For many people, just the thought of bed bugs, cockroaches or mice is enough to make their skin crawl. Now imagine finding them in a hospital.
Many of Montreal's hospitals are aging or undergoing renovations, creating perfect spaces where critters can thrive.
Documents obtained by CBC News show how much each major hospital spent on pest control between 2020 and the end of the 2024 fiscal year, with several hospitals detailing the specific incidents behind significant spikes in costs over the years.
Thousands of people pass through these facilities every day which can make prevention challenging.
"It's 24/7," said Jonathan St-Pierre, a branch manager for Orkin Canada, an extermination company based on Montreal's North Shore. "You can't close it down if you want to do a big treatment."
Zeroing in on exactly where they are coming from can also be difficult.
"Rats are a lot harder than mice because they are smarter," said St-Pierre.
"We have to find where they're coming from and in a place like a hospital, there's a lot of old piping, nooks and crannies and the doors are often open."
Patients can carry bugs in
The most common type of pests in hospitals are rats, mice, cockroaches and bed bugs.
Patients can unknowingly carry bed bugs into the hospital with them on their clothes or their luggage, said St-Pierre.
If there's an outbreak, it can sometimes take more than one treatment to get rid of them.
Some detective work is needed to find the source of an outbreak, but exterminators often get clues from hospital staff or patients who may have seen a cockroach in a corner or a mouse run down a hallway.
Once the source of the problem is found, St-Pierre said their technicians try to find a chemical-free way to get rid of them.
If a decision is made to use pesticides, there are strict rules about what can be used — it is a hospital, after all — and the administration has to grant technicians special permission.
"Each time we use a pesticide in an operating room, we close it for 48 hours, which is a big problem because as we know, our hospitals need their operating rooms," said St-Pierre.
Climbing costs, documents show
CBC Montreal did an access to information request of the regional health boards that oversee about 20 hospitals in greater Montreal to find out how much was spent on pest control between 2020 and the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
During that time, more than $1 million total was spent on pest control.
But it is difficult to compare costs across hospitals due to differences in the size and age of the establishment.
For instance, the McGill University Health Centre spends about $50,000 a year on pest control at the Glen site alone, but it is three times the size of the other hospitals the MUHC oversees combined.
Still, it was possible to see if there was a sudden jump in spending for a specific hospital in a given year.
CBC requested interviews with the regional health boards that had the largest increases in pest control costs. They directed us to Santé Québec, which then re-directed us back to the regional health boards. No one granted CBC an interview.
CHU Sainte-Justine saw the most dramatic increase in 2024. Between 2020 and the end of 2023, the pediatric hospital spent an average of $12,500 a year on pest control. That amount grew to more than $67,000 in 2024.
Despite preventive measures, the hospital, which opened at its current location on Côte Sainte-Catherine in 1957, confirmed cockroaches were found in certain areas of its food service last summer.
"This episode required rapid treatment, as well as proactive control measures," Danika Landry, a spokesperson for the CHU Sainte-Justine, told CBC in an email. The hospital declined an on-camera interview.
"At no time did the experts perceive any risk to the health and safety of patients, families and staff," Landry said.
Orkin Canada did not reveal which hospitals it had contracts with, but said the age of a building can make it more difficult to manage pests.
A few years ago, a hospital had a problem with wasps in the operating room. Turns out the insects were able to get in through a crack in the window, said St-Pierre.
Mice and rats can also slip into the building if a new wing or extension is being built.
"As soon as you get construction close or in the building, you're going to get a spike," said St-Pierre, who said it's important for hospitals to remain proactive.
That may mean weekly inspections to check sticky traps for insects or to keep an eye out for mouse droppings.
"We put in a lot of monitoring systems so we can monitor what is coming in so we know in advance before we have an infestation," said St-Pierre.
Rodent issue during construction
The CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal saw a significant jump in the amount it spends on pest control for both of the hospitals it oversees in recent years.
Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital's costs nearly doubled between 2023-24 and the 2024-25 fiscal year from about $25,000 a year to just under $50,000.
The Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, whose facilities date back to the 1950s, serves nearly a third of Montreal's population. A much-anticipated revamp of the aging hospital was supposed to begin last year, but was delayed until this summer. Last month, the province said construction may be delayed even further.
Santa Cabrini Hospital's buildings date back to 1960. Pest control costs there rose from $18,000 in 2023-24 to almost $26,000 for 2024-25.
"We've increased prevention in order to have a good control network," said Luc Fortin, a media relations and public affairs adviser for the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
Rising general costs also explain the increase, particularly at Santa Cabrini, which has had ongoing construction of a new surgical block since January 2023.
Spot checks between the old building and the new building were increased from one to two visits per week to prevent rodents from getting in, said Fortin. Construction is expected to wrap up this summer.
Pest control costs also spiked at Sacré-Cœur Hospital while it was being renovated in 2022.
That year, the regional health board spent nearly $52,000, nearly double what it spent in 2021, according to documents.
"The many renovations carried out in our facilities generated a necessary increase in the frequency of exterminator visits," said Béatrice Gougeon, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, which oversees Sacré-Cœur.
Gougeon said rodents were the main pests targeted by these interventions.
Last fall, La Presse reported the presence of flies and ladybugs in the surgical wing at Sacré-Cœur resulted in some operating rooms being closed.
Gougeon said there were 10 pest management incidents related to the operating theatre in 2024, but they were not all linked to one type of pest.
"If a fly or ladybug is present during an operation, our teams make sure the situation is under control," said Gougeon in an email. "After surgery, we call in an exterminator. The safety of employees and users is never compromised and the establishment is always proactive."
Preventive recommendations
To avoid future outbreaks, cleanliness is always at the top of the list.
"Not leaving food out, not leaving food in the patient's room, not leaving food in the garbage cans for too long because it smells and it's going to attract them," said St-Pierre.
He also recommends hospitals clean their food carts after every service and to try and keep the doors of rooms closed if they are not in use.
But some hospitals have loading docks where supplies are brought in. These areas often don't have air conditioning in the summer and the doors are left open to let air circulate.
"When you get to the evenings, nights and early mornings, that's where rodents are the most active," said St-Pierre.
Their teams advise staff to check the delivery pallets before they bring them into the hospital because mice often stow away there.
He understands some people may see an exterminator and get nervous, but St-Pierre said maintenance and prevention is actually a good thing, because it means the hospital is being proactive.
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