Detroit Council Considers Bed Bug Crackdown
DETROIT (WWJ) - Landlords in Detroit may soon be forced to eradicate bed bugs on their properties or face penalties.
Several tenants of downtown Detroit apartment buildings complained about bed bug infestation during a public hearing, Monday, with City Council.
"Bed bugs have been attacking me for about two weeks," said one complainant. "I've got blood on the bed. I went to the bathroom and they was on my chest, doin' little dances and things. It seemed like they was," he said.
"Exterminators do a Mickey Mouse job in eliminating bed bugs," said another tenant.
"Heat treatment is costly. One manager said heat treatment costs $1,000, and now they're looking at getting little dogs to sniff out these bedbugs. Some tenants have been threatened with eviction if they complain about it," he said.
The proposed ordinance has been drafted at the urging of Councilman Kwame Kenyatta. It would force the landlord to provide written proof that includes the signature of a licensed pest control company that the problem has been treated.
Bed bug infestation continues to be a statewide and national problem.
