A Toronto municipal councillor wants the city's health board to take steps to declare the growing problem of bedbugs a "health hazard."

Howard Moscoe said he will urge the board to ask the province to make the necessary changes under the provincial Health Act.

Last year, pest control companies reported a marked increase in bedbug infestations.

One company told the Toronto board of health it was fumigating 450 residences a month, on average, Moscoe said. Bedbugs aren't life-threatening, but the physical and psychological effects are reason enough to declare them a health hazard, he said.

"Because the Health Act does not declare them a health hazard, you can't force a neighbouring tenant to allow the city in to spray for bugs, so it's a significant dilemma for people who have them," he told CBC News.

Moscoe said he will make his case to the health board at its next meeting.