Residents living inside an Ypsilanti apartment complex say their units are infested with all different kinds of bugs – so much so that they are covering their furniture in insect repellant.
They reached out to Local 4 and the apartment complex, at 108 Washtenaw Ave., confirmed it is being treated for cockroach activity.
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“I haven’t been able to eat,” Kelly Edmonds, a resident, said. “I usually eat at work or donate plasma to supplement my income. I haven’t been able to do that.”
Edmonds pulls up to her complex each day and sees trash piling up outside. She says it’s frustrating, but the situation inside is even more frustrating.
“One day it was so bad, it was like nine bites in one day. I was just continually getting bite after bite after bite,” she said.
Edmonds says she wakes up searching for the next bite and then what critter is crawling around her home.
“They itch. Even the next day or days later, they are burning. They are itching,” she said.
She moved to the building in August.
“Day 1, I moved in and I noticed,” she said. “We have an app portal, so I put it in the portal.”
Over time, she says it’s just gotten worse.
“The tenants actually protested last year, in I think it was March of 25, they protested because they’ve been dealing with this,” she said.
She says management will have one room treated but leave many others.
“The landlord is showing receipts to the city and saying, ‘I am treating it.’ But, you’re not,” she said. “It’s like crumbs. It’s like pest control would not just spray somebody’s kitchen. When they come, they spray the entire house.”
We reached out to the owners of the complex.
“Red Shield has retained a professional pest control company and is actively treating 108 Washtenaw for cockroach activity,” they said. “With respect to bed bugs, Red Shield is aware of complaints from only two units. One of those tenants was evicted nine days ago, and the other did not report any concerns until last week. Both units are scheduled to receive professional treatment this week.”
“Have some humanity. Have some humanity, that’s all,” Edmonds said.