Infestations

Aries Queen shares her nightmare and went from a bug free home to an infestation all starting with a mattress picked up from the trash by neighbors who wouldn’t let the exterminator in to do their job. Not a happy ending but suggestions for those of you going through the same thing!

A little over 2 years ago I lived in an apartment building with 4 units, only 2 were occupied. I was upstairs, right above the people downstairs. They decided to take this furniture that looked band new, sitting outside. They didn’t stop to think about the problem with bedbugs going around in New York City!.

In April these careless people infested both of our units with theses awful things. I did go down and literally chew them out and made them put that bug infested furniture outside!! They did, but when the exterminator came they refused to let him in to treat their unit. So, my money was wasted.

I had informed the landlord prior to my calling an exterminator, but at the same time I called him he was calling me to tell me he lost the building to foreclosure. He said, “just move, you have to move anyways.” I went off on him. I did a bunch of research and the ONLY solution was to move, but I had to leave ALL of my furniture behind. I had to start over, and it took me just about 2 years to get everything back that I had to leave behind.

I finally moved into my new, clean, bug free apartment months later. It is now the following year and my brother starts seeing roaches here and there, not very often at all. Maybe once in 3-4 months, usually a baby. I would call the property manager and she would come spray my unit. The tenant downstairs refuses to let the property manager in to spray her unit. She did finally get in after about a year of threats and reschedules; and she was disgusted by what she saw. Dirty dishes everywhere, garbage all over,food all over.

It was filthy and smelled horrible. I know the smell because me and my children can smell her in the back hall, our ONLY entrance. The smell is indescribable. No adult supervision means that there are a bunch of other peoples kids in and out, shaking the entire house, jumping so hard stuff upstairs is falling down. On top of the roaches, the bed bug are back and the landlord still is not doing much. I was given some powder stuff to put down and a gallon of Harris bedbug spray.

I also had to search for vinyl, zippered mattress covers. They aren’t easy to find now days, due to the huge bed bug problem here. I called the NYC health department and I had to leave a message on a voice mail. Who knows if or when they will even call me back.

I have called various exterminators and the most effective way to kill bed bugs is a heat treatment. That is ranging from $900- $1800 just for my unit to be treated for bed bugs. I have the 2nd and third floor of a 2 family house. 5 bedrooms, plus living room,kitchen and bathroom is a lot of space to have treated.

I knew it wouldn’t be cheap. I do not have that kind of money. I am going to keep calling NTC DOH everyday until somebody answers the phone. If I have to I will go to their offices. Somebody HAS to be able to do something. This bed bug thing is driving me mad!!

I’m just tired and want to sleep, without feeling things crawling on me. This is so not fair to me or my children in any way at all.