Bed Bug Infestation: One Man’s Nightmare
Bed bug infestation. Bed bugs can’t be fun to deal with. You have to treat everything multiple times and even get rid of certain things if they’ve been infected bad enough.
Gary Shelton unfortunately had to deal with bed bugs for months as well as the multiple dealing with exterminators. Gary’s had to toss clothes, wooden bed frame, as well as other items of value due to the severity of the outbreak.
Gary’s a sixty-eight year old man so I’m sure this was no easy task. As for the rest of his belongings he had to wash, dry, and bag them.
He’s been waiting and waiting for things to return normal, however in December 2016, January-February 2017 he continued to deal with the horrible little creatures. On the ninth floor of his apartment building, the exterminator had been by to spray once in all three of those months.
Gary’s Statement:
If there is any evidence of bedbugs, they treat again. It’s like living out of an overnight case for three months.
In March he finally received the okay to reenter the apartment.
Bed Bugs of course can be anywhere, but they’re mainly fans of popular areas like: shelters, college dorms, buses, trains, or cruise ships. They like an 8 foot area to live in, especially where people sleep. They also don’t leave an instant sting, a bite from a bed bug can take up to a few days.
Luckily, bed bugs do not transmit diseases. The bugs scare people because they feed at night. Sleeping with the lights on isn’t a solution either.
Entomologist, Michael Porter’s Statement:
Sleeping with the lights on is also not likely to deter hungry bed bugs.
Bed bugs aren’t fast eaters, they can take up to three to ten minutes before finishing a mean. The bug then goes to hide so that he or she can digest their food in peace.
Transplant Goes on Hold Due to Bed Bugs
Junior Fogg is an Los Angeles resident. Fogg used to be an active kidney transplant waiting list for over five years. Sadly, he came home to find that his apartment had been infested with bed bugs and other insects. The infestation caused him to be removed from the list.
Doctors told Fogg that he could be put back on the active waiting list as soon as he lives in a “vermin” free apartment. How sad, five years of his precious, limited life and now he’s got to start over.
Fogg’s Statement:
I was at the tip top of the list, the tip top… If I had a place to go and it was germ-free enough for me to stay there, I would have no problem. I would not be going through this.
Fogg was told that the bed bugs and cockroaches would cause him to suffer an infection as he was trying to recover from the transplant. Now Fogg and his partner, Monica Howland have filed a lawsuit against the building owners. They hope that this will a step to make the owners clean up and treat the apartment building.
Fogg, is a fifty-four year old man and he said that for years he and the other tenants have been telling management about the issue. However, the building owners haven’t done enough to try to fix the issue.
Apartment Building Statement On Bed Bugs:
We are aware that a lawsuit is being filed, but have not yet viewed the allegations or the complaint. Like many urban apartment buildings, Ibiza House/The Plaza has a regular extermination plan with licensed pest control. Unfortunately, some of our residents – including Mr. Fogg and Ms. Howland – have not allowed the exterminators into their apartments to spray. We take building maintenance very seriously and work hard to keep our residents happy.
Another tenant from the same apartment building, named John Spea said that the owners of the property do not do enough to help their tenants.
Spea’s Statement:
The owners just don’t do their job. They said we’re not going to tent the building so they just keep endlessly spraying these apartments and people have to live in horrible, horrible conditions.
Fogg hasn’t been able to move to a different apartment building due to finances. The landlord of the apartment building told the local news that the situation in the building wasn’t nearly as bad as the tenants were trying to make it seem.
Sounds pretty bad when someone loses their chances at a kidney transplant though. Hopefully Fogg can get things in order to be put back on the list as soon as possible.
Contact DAG Law Firm, APC today to schedule a complimentary consultation at (323) 930-2020.
