Bedbugs Infest Southwest Oklahoma City Apartment Complex

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK-- When Annie Ward move to the Mirador Apartments three months ago, she was hoping for a fresh start after leaving an apartment covered in black mold, but instead, Ward found herself in an "itchy" situation.  Her apartment is infested with bed bugs.

"I felt something crawling on me," recalls Ward, "I got up and turned on the light, they were everywhere!"

When Fox-25 crews stopped by Ward's apartment bedbugs crawled on her curtains and couch.  Ward says the bedbug problem is so bad in her bedroom, she is forced to sleep on a chair in her living room.

Ward called her landlord to complain about the bedbug problem on December 2nd.  She says all her landlord gave her was a bottle of bed bug spray to take care of the problem herself, but with COPD and other health problems, she must avoid exposure to chemicals.

According to the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, Ward is not the only tenant at the Mirador Apartment complex with a bed bug problem.  Records show three complaints filed from other tenants since September.

"It would make sense that several complaints were made in one apartment," said Waite Colbaugh, a public health specialist with the Oklahoma City-County Health Department, "when bed bugs get established, they're very hard to treat."

Colbaugh recommends using a professional heat treatment to get rid of the bed bugs.  He says apartment managers who do not get rid of bed bugs after a complaint is filed could get a citation from the Health Department.

Ward's landlord declined an on-camera interview but said pest control will spray her apartment for bedbugs Wednesday morning. Bedbugs Infest Southwest Oklahoma City Apartment Complex

Posted: Tuesday, December 18 2012, 09:46 PM CST