A bedbug infestation in apartments for the elderly in Harpurhey has driven two pensioners out of their homes.
That’s according to the daughter and carer of the two elderly ladies, who claims the infestation has been there ‘two years’. She now fears the problem at Annie Darby Court is so severe it’s given her mum ‘a skin infection’ and friend ‘leg ulcers’.
The 47-year-old has called on Manchester City Council to temporarily rehouse tenants in all 30 flats to fumigate the entire complex, built in 1977.
“It sheltered accommodation and they are spraying one flat at a time,” she said. “It does not make sense to not do it all in one go. They have also had to remove the chairs in the lounge to get rid of the bedbugs there, they’ve had to shut down the laundry. They are just trying to save money.
“Pest control told me my mum’s bed was so infested you’d have to throw it away”
(Image: LDRS)
“I’ve asked the housing office to rehome them, but she said there’s nowhere for them to go.”
The daughter, who asked to stay anonymous, says her mum’s flat was fumigated on January 2 after she reported the issue on Christmas Eve.
“They had to leave the building when it was fumigated,” she went on. “Pest control told me my mum’s bed was so infested you’d have to throw it away. We had to throw both [my mum and her friend’s] beds out in the end.”
However, ‘five days later’ she said she found ‘a bedbug on the new bed’, prompting her mum and pal to stay with another friend. It also led to her calling on council bosses to fumigate the entire premises at once. But the authority says that’s not necessary as the problem is isolated to a limited number of properties.
The 47-year-old has called on Manchester City Council to temporarily rehouse tenants in all 30 flats to fumigate the entire complex, built in 1977.
(Image: LDRS)
“We are currently working closely with residents at Annie Darby Court following a bedbug issue at a small number of individual homes within the housing scheme,” a spokesperson said.
“We understand how distressing this sort of issue can be for our residents and we are taking the control of the infestation very seriously, in partnership with the Council’s Pest Control Team. We have treated residents’ homes along with communal areas – and we will continue the treatment plan to ensure we eradicate the infestation fully.”