Residents of Ouellette Manor still concerned

 

By Lyndi-Colleen Morgan

Residents in a local apartment building are dealing with an infestation of cockroaches and are desperate to be rid of the creeping critters.

The 400 unit complex of 920 Ouellette Ave. is home to residents over the age of 50 living on fixed incomes.

Bev Dupuis first moved into the building in June 2013. In January 2016, she moved to the 21st floor.

“I used to live on three and I had nothing, but when I moved up to the 21st…by July I started seeing them,” said Dupuis.

The “infestation of cockroaches” became publicly known after Dupuis contacted the Windsor Star when she felt not enough was being done to solve the problem.

Cockroaches, along with other insects and rodents are considered to be pests and affect the health and well-being of those sharing a space with them.

According to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, the sight of cockroaches can cause considerable psychological or emotional stress in some individuals.

Although there is little proof to link cockroaches to specific disease outbreaks, it is considered an allergen source and an asthma trigger for residents living in close proximity.

Other health risks include the methods and chemicals used to treat the pest problem. Exposure to chemicals can also affect the health and safety of an occupant’s home.

“When I first moved into the building I noticed a lot of dead ones,” said Dianne Darrington, who became a tenant in 2014. She was told by Dupuis they spray for pests before new tenants move-in.

“I went and asked them (management) ‘are there any cockroaches?’ and they said ‘no,’” said Darrington.

Dupuis said she asked similar questions when she moved in and she never expected it to get this bad.

The management of Ouellette Manor, owned by Windsor-Essex Community Housing Corporation, is looking to help the occupants become cockroach free.

“Cockroaches are unfortunately common in this city across the core. There are a lot of reasons for it,”said Kari Schofield, public affairs spokesperson at CHC housing who has worked there for 10 years. “But the truth is we have to be vigilant and we learned that what we’re doing in the common areas was fine. We didn’t know how much more we needed to do.”

Treatment and preventative maintenance of the building happens weekly on Wednesdays at Ouellette Manor. During this time, public areas and garbage rooms are baited, traps are put down and reported rooms are taken care of. On Oct. 12 alone they received 17 requests to treat units.

Schofield said until a request or complaint is made, management is not aware of the problem.

“I don’t want to downplay the problem, because it is a problem,” said Scholfield.

Dupuis said she has noticed her health deteriorate and believes there is a connection to the pest problems. She has recently been diagnosed with chronic asthma, shortness of breath and coughing fits which affect her COPD.

Besides her health, she said another problem arising from this situation is the lack of interaction with her family.

“My daughter dropped me off at home after a doctor’s appointment,” said Dupuis. “When she got home she called me upset and said ‘mom I can’t come to your house anymore. She has long hair… when she went home and undid it a cockroach fell out.”

Dupuis said it is unsafe and cannot have her children taking the bugs homes.

“It makes you feel ashamed and dirty, even if you are not a dirty person,” said Darrington. “Sometimes I feel like I am not doing enough.”

CHC has a forecasted pest eradication budget of $326,000 for 2016, with $62,000 going to the Ouellette Manor property. To date $46,566 has been spent and Schofield said it will exceed the budget.

The CHC’s new plan of action for Ouellette Manor involves three stakeholders — CHC, residents and Orkin Canada Pest and Termite Control.

“Cockroaches are very difficult, difficult pests to remove, there is no immediate extermination for cockroaches… it requires time and patience,” said Schofield. “Orkin Canada is going to inspect and take the appropriate action in all 400 units top to bottom and that is how we are approaching this.”

They will start on the 24th floor and treat six units per day until the whole building is done.

Dupuis said she has seen other residents in the past refuse treatment for their apartments and there are at least six on her floor alone. Both Dupuis and Schofield acknowledge this as a problem but CHC has taken the necessary steps to be able to treat these residences.

“If treatment is refused we (CHC) are charged by the company. We may at our discretion charge that back to the residents,” said Schofield. “We don’t like doing that but we need compliance. We need everyone in this building to work together so we can make this happen.”

Information will be provided to residents in easy to understand presentations and in multiple languages.

Dupuis has recently reached out to legal council. Due to her health, her doctor has said she can not stay in the building during treatment.

“He said I can’t stay, and I have nowhere else to go,” said Dupuis.

She has requested to move until the treatment process is completed in the entire building and is waiting to hear from CHC management regarding what will be done.

Although Dupuis and Darrington have seen only cockroaches, they have heard talk about other pests such as bed bugs.

Schofield said the treatment Orkin Canada will be doing is an “all-inclusive treatment” and will also deal with ants, bedbugs and other pests.

A meeting will be held for staff and residents of Ouellette Manor to discuss the coming situation and to gauge where everyone is at.

“We need to improve our communication. Something happened here and I do believe we have put in the appropriate actions to fix this,” said Schofield. “We may have failed to realize there wasn’t the right type of communication in place to help manage this for our resident so that is what we are trying to do right now to make it easier.”

Schofield said the meeting between the staff, Orkin Canada and the residents will help as well.

“The last thing we want is to have people living with cockroaches, so how do we fix it,” said Schofield.

Dupuis and Darrington said they have one question for the management of Ouellette Manor.

“Am I going to be able to call something home? I have been here three years and now I am being uplifted from my home,” said Dupuis. “So when am I really able to call something home?”