The Ranking
Our top 8 pest control companies in Montreal
Pest control in Montreal follows the seasons and the housing. Most of the island lives in plexes, walk-ups and condo buildings that share walls, pipes and basements, so a mouse or cockroach problem in one unit rarely stays there. Mice move indoors when the nights turn cold in the fall and stay through winter, and the calls that keep exterminators busy from October to March are mostly about rodents. Bed bugs are the other constant. They travel in furniture and luggage, and the July 1 moving day, when thousands of leases turn over at once, moves them from one apartment to the next. In summer the calls shift to carpenter ants in older wood framing, pavement ants, and wasp nests under balconies and eaves.
That mix shapes what a good company looks like here. For mice, the firms worth hiring look for the gaps where rodents get in and seal them, rather than leaving bait stations and leaving. For bed bugs, ask about preparation, follow-up visits and methods such as steam, heat or freezing, since a single spray rarely ends an infestation in a multi-unit building. For cockroaches in a plex, the neighbouring units usually need treatment too, so ask whether the company will coordinate with your landlord or syndicate.
Most of the firms on this list describe their approach as integrated pest management. In plain terms, that means inspecting first, removing what draws the pest, closing entry points, and using pesticides in targeted amounts where they are needed. If you have children, pets or someone with asthma at home, ask which products will be used, where they will be applied, and how long to stay out of treated rooms. A careful technician will answer without hesitation and leave written instructions.
In Quebec, companies that apply pesticides for pay need a permit from the environment ministry, the Ministere de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP), and their technicians need a pesticide certificate. Several firms on this list publish theirs; Central Extermination prints its permit number on its site, and A Bas Prix Extermination says its technicians hold the CD5 certificate. For any company, ask for the permit number before the first visit and check that the technician carries a certificate. Membership in the Association Quebecoise de la Gestion Parasitaire (AQGP) is a useful extra sign.
Montreal treatments also cost in different ways. Some firms sell a single visit with a guarantee period, others sell a plan with several visits a year. Ask how many visits are included, what the guarantee covers, whether a re-treatment within that period is free, and how a plan renews or ends. Insight's few complaints, for example, are about renewals and extra fees rather than results.
We searched Google in English and French (pest control, exterminator, extermination, exterminateur, gestion parasitaire, punaises de lit and souris) and checked borough by borough. We only kept firms with a staffed address inside the City of Montreal. Suburbs such as Laval, Longueuil, Brossard, Mount Royal and the demerged West Island towns were left out, along with home addresses, virtual offices and multi-city lead pages.
