'He is paranoid... he is really scared he’s going to get them or pass them on'
A bedbug infestation has prevented a pensioner from seeing his grandchildren for MONTHS as he’s ‘paranoid’ — despite not having the pests himself.
The 73-year-old lives at Annie Darby Court, in Harpurhey. Some flats and communal areas in the council-run retirement complex were treated for pests earlier this month.
Relatives of residents believe the infestation has been there ‘two years’, with the daughter of one retiree believing the problem is so severe it gave her mum ‘a skin infection’.
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Now, after the MEN revealed last week an infestation was found, another relative has come forward to say her father is troubled by bedbugs, even though they’ve not been found in his home.
“He used to come up here and see his grandchildren, but he has not set foot in here since November because he is petrified of having bedbugs on him,” the 37-year-old, from Salford, said.
“I have seen a massive deterioration with him with this. He is paranoid. He is really scared he’s going to get them or pass them on. He’s even avoiding all the handrails.”
The woman says her dad has ‘spent over £200 on bedbug spray’ to ensure he isn’t blighted by the problem. However, she has echoed the calls from other relatives to fully fumigate the 40-year-old block.
“They are just fumigating the places that have got it and they are allowing them to travel around,” she added. “The whole place needs to be fumigated.”
Previously, a council spokesperson said it ‘understood how distressing this sort of issue can be’, but insisted a full fumigation wasn’t necessary because it was an ‘issue at a small number of individual homes’.
After the new request was put to them, a spokesperson for the authority said their plan was ‘working’ and no full fumigation would be undertaken.
A spokesperson said: "The response from some residents in Annie Darby Court is absolutely understandable and we share their eagerness to remove the infestation as quickly as possible. The potential of bed bugs is very unpleasant and we appreciate that residents at the housing scheme are doing what they can to limit the risk of the bugs spreading.
"However, we would like to reassure residents that the treatment is working. The infestation is relatively small and it is contained. The Council's pest control experts expected to repeat the treatment a number of times to make sure the bugs are removed completely, and they have also been treating communal areas to limit the chance for the infestation to spread any further.
"We'd like to thank residents for reporting the issue, which has meant we have been able to get ahead of the infestation and begin the treatment process quickly."