Cleveland tenants fight bed bug infestation, city ranked in top 15 for bed bug issues – News 5 Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Tenants living at the Abbeyshire Apartments on Rocky River Drive in Cleveland report they've been fighting a battle against bed bugs for the past several weeks.

Rose Mary Long said she's been a tenant at the complex for three years, and showed us the dozens of bed bug bites on her arms and legs.

Long said she even paid more than $860 to have exterminators treat her apartment, but believes the infestation in multiple units is so bad the bed bugs keep coming back.

"I can't sleep, I can't eat half of the time," said Long. "The scars are from the first round that I had them. They feast on human blood. When I kill them and everything, then the blood splatters."

Long said apartment management has been aware of the situation since early July but is now just calling additional exterminators to the scene.

Long said multiple visits by exterminators has so far proven to be ineffective, and she's hoping apartment management will follow-up on the chronic problem.

News 5 made three phone calls to apartment management about this case, but we are still waiting for a return phone call.

According to Orkin's annual top 50 list of bed bug cities, Cleveland has repeatedly made it into the top 15.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Health reports the problem is so extensive it has launched a bed bug task force.

The board of health said it's up to tenants to report bed bug issues to their city building department and get inspectors on the case.

The Cleveland Department of Public Health has even put together a guide on how tenants and homeowners should deal with and report bed bug issues.

Cleveland has also launched a bed bug assistance program to help seniors and adults deal with the growing problem.

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Cleveland tenants fight bed bug infestation, city ranked in top 15 for bed bug issues - News 5 Cleveland