Bedbug infestation reported at Ann Arbor public housing complex – MLive.com

Update: Several tenants at Ann Arbor public housing complex have battled bedbugs, records show

ANN ARBOR, MI Madison Schankin said she noticed bedbugs in her apartment the day she moved in several months ago.

I could see them coming out of the stairs. They were in the shower, in my carpet, on anything I took upstairs, said the tenant of Maple Meadows, a low-income housing complex managed by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission on Maple Road.

In the time that weve lived here, weve never slept in either of the bedrooms upstairs because they were in the carpets up there, she said, adding she reported it to the Housing Commission immediately.

They said that no tenant had ever previously complained in my unit or my building and that it wasnt a problem, she said.

And then from talking to neighbors, I found out that the people that moved out of my unit had like a 14-month-long infestation where they were throwing everything they owned out because there were so many."

Madison Schankin and her nearly 2-year-old son Roland outside their Maple Meadows apartment in Ann Arbor on Nov. 10, 2020. They've been dealing with recurring bedbug infestations, she said.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

The Housing Commission maintains it takes bedbugs seriously and has spent over $220,000 on pest control since 2015, the vast majority related to bedbugs.

Its up to tenants to report infestations and the commission responds, Executive Director Jennifer Hall said.

Since being notified by the tenant of the bedbug issues, we have immediately worked to address the issues, she said.

Maple Meadows is a 29-unit apartment complex. At any given time, we might have zero to three tenants at Maple Meadows receiving treatment for bedbugs.

But even after repeated chemical spray treatments, bedbug problems have persisted, Schankin and one of her neighbors said Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Ive talked to several tenants in different buildings who either are experiencing the problem or have, Schankin said.

Some tenants told The Ann Arbor News/MLive they were unaware of any bedbug problems.

The Housing Commission has sent pest control out to spray Schankins apartment multiple times, but it only works for a while, she said.

Theyll come in and treat a unit, but they refuse to treat the building as a whole, so it kind of just puts a Band-Aid over the problem, she said. It goes away for one, two, three weeks and then it comes back."

Frustrated, Schankin, who lives with her partner and their almost 2-year-old son, shared her story on the Ann Arbor Townies Facebook page recently. Doing so was humiliating, but she felt she was left with no other options, she said.

The Ann Arbor Tenants Union, a group that helps renters navigate landlord-tenant issues, has come to her aid, calling the situation horrifying.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, also has gotten involved, sending letters to the Housing Commission and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, saying shes highly concerned about the lack of responsiveness by management."

According to these revelations, tenants have been forced to relocate from their bedrooms due to the infestation, and management is requiring all residents to sign a form indicating that there is not a bedbug problem on the property in order to re-sign their lease, effectively forcing tenants to choose between ignoring the issue or losing their home, Dingell wrote to HUD last week.

Despite exterminators' attempts to address issues in singular units, bedbugs remain a complex-wide problem that continue to threaten the health and safety of those living on the property.

Hall issued a seven-page response Tuesday, expressing disappointment Dingells office didnt reach out to her prior to making those accusations.

The health and safety of the tenants in our community is always our top priority and we work every day, as proactively as possible, to have systems in place to address issues like bedbugs, Hall said.

Though bedbugs feed on human blood and can cause itchy welts, sleep disruptions and distress, they are not a serious medical threat unless someone is allergic to the bites and they do not spread disease, Hall said, citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information.

Maple Meadows, a multi-building apartment complex managed by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, on Nov. 10, 2020.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

There are no known preventative treatments except to be vigilant about not allowing bedbugs to enter an apartment, Hall said, noting they can hitch rides on people, pets and belongings.

An infestation can be treated and eliminated, but a new infestation can occur quickly if new bugs enter, she said. Even if the commission sprayed every apartment all in the same week, for weeks in a row, it would not prevent future bedbugs, she said.

Its still the commissions responsibility to treat infestations, and the commission doesnt bill tenants for the costs, Hall said.

In cases where an infestation is so severe the spray isnt working, heat treatment has been used, she said.

But treatment doesnt work if tenants havent followed protocols to prepare apartments for treatment, and its up to tenants to report infestations as soon as possible to allow treatment, Hall said.

The commission entered a contract for more comprehensive bedbug treatment in 2015 after infestations increased significantly at Miller Manor, another Housing Commission property, Hall said, noting the contract is renewed annually.

Under our new integrated pest control management contract, Rose Pest Control performs weekly bedbug treatments every Wednesday morning for every tenants apartment that has notified us of a new bedbug problem since the previous Wednesday, Hall said.

Follow-up inspections are scheduled two weeks after treatment to determine if the bugs are gone or need another treatment, she said.

In addition, the company does rotating monthly inspections at larger properties with shared common areas, and it treats every vacant apartment before it is turned over to a new tenant, Hall said.

If an apartment was known to have bedbugs previously, extra precautions are taken, she said.

Apartment leases have an addendum explaining responsibilities related to bedbugs and that must be signed to live in an apartment, but no tenant has been evicted or threatened with eviction for not signing, Hall said.

Tenants sometimes fear the stigma of reporting bedbugs and worry they will be charged or evicted if they report them, so they wait until the problem is really bad, Hall said.

The commission has never evicted a tenant for having bedbugs, she said, noting that would be illegal.

As for Schankins apartment, Hall told Dingell in her letter Tuesday the property manager talked with the tenant Oct. 28 and no bedbug concerns were raised, but the manager reached out again Nov. 2 after Schankins Facebook post.

The tenant told the property manager, for the first time related to the current bedbug problem, that they had been out of town for several months and they had recently gotten back into town, and they did not know that they had bedbugs or how bad the bedbug situation was on October 28, 2020, and yes they wanted bedbug treatment, Hall said.

The property manager immediately put the apartment on the treatment list and it was treated Nov. 4, along with two adjacent apartments, Hall said. The pest control contractor did not see signs of infestation, but treated anyway, she said.

Before moving into Maple Meadows in February, Schankin previously lived at a newly built Housing Commission apartment where she also reported bedbugs, Hall said.

When she signed a new lease Oct. 1, she did not say she currently had bedbugs, but she wrote: When we first moved in, I was seeing them coming out of the cracks in the stairs. Pest control came, but Im still nervous. Havent been home enough to see any new signs, but weary of the situation."

Hall also attached a list of maintenance requests the tenant has made to show she knows how to contact the Housing Commission and the commission is responsive.

Hall said shes also happy to meet with the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, which has requested a meeting.

Schankin said shes still hoping theres a broader, more effective response to the problem soon.

Im not trying to make an attack on public housing, she said. I very much appreciate my apartment ... but this is just mentally driving us insane, the fact that I cant eradicate the problem.

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Bedbug infestation reported at Ann Arbor public housing complex - MLive.com