Bed bugs back at Westgate Apartments in Stroudsburg – Pocono Record

Monroe County Housing Authority says its a chronic condition.

The Westgate apartments have gone through another series of treatments after a rash of bed bugs were found in about a dozen units, management said.

Employees of pest control company Orkin were at the Stroudsburg Main Street apartment building Tuesday afternoon to complete a two-step treatment of bed bugs found in a dozen units with another few neighboring units also receiving treatment, Monroe County Housing Authority executive director Rich Widdoss said.

Tenants at the 99-unit apartment complex were informed of the infestation and plans to exterminate it by an Orkin representative, Widdoss said. Due to chemical use, tenants in affected areas were required to leave the complex for a few hours and remove their clothing from the units in order to wash and dry them. It was the second of two treatments by Orkin, Widdoss said the first occurring about a week and a half ago.

The public housing project has had recurring issues with bed bugs in the past, with Widdoss describing it as a chronic condition. The housing authority only recently contracted Orkin for a re-evaluation, having used several different contractors for pest control in past years, deputy executive director Linda Kaufman said.

Despite recurring bed bug reports, Westgate has remained housed at full capacity, Kaufman said, with no closures of floors or units for treatment. Widdoss was informed by Orkin that local hotels have had a far worse faring with bed bugs in past years, but hotels are able to treat the issue between room reservations.

Kaufman described bed bugs as aproblem every landlord has to address.

It can come and go, when people leave and move in, Kaufman said. Or it's something as simple as people going on vacation and it coming back with them.

Outside visitors could easily carry the pests into apartment units, Widdoss said. He recalled a tenant who, after giving frequent car rides to others, had to have the inside of their vehicle treated for infestation last year.

Westgate benefits from a mostly concrete framework that usually limits bed bugs to one unit. Though units are checked for pests on an as-needed basis as opposed to a set schedule the public housing staff is trained to look for infestation and keep an ear to tenants.

Some tenants being treated for bed bugs this week have had multiple infestations before, Widdoss said.

They want it resolved, but theyve got to be the ones to follow protocol, Widdoss said.

Kaufman reiterated that tenants should inform their landlords of any bed bugs or cockroaches immediately, before the problem worsens.

We do treat every issue in a timely manner, and well say that if a tenant does not help in this situation, it may jeopardize their housing, Kaufman said.

No tenants housing situation was affected by the most recent treatment, Kaufman said.

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Bed bugs back at Westgate Apartments in Stroudsburg - Pocono Record