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Debbie Zufelt is devastated that an ongoing bed bug situation in the Edgewater Apartments on Lakeshore Drive has evicted her from her home and left her dog in someone else’s care.
She’s even more upset that with one arm in a cast she is responsible for cleaning up the thousands of dead bed bug carcasses that cover her sheets, couch, and floors.
“I’m at the end of my joke,” Zufelt told The Nugget on Wednesday. “The woman above was infested. I went to the hospital on Monday a week ago and just found out I had bed bugs in my apartment. “
Unfortunately, Zufelt said her dog sitter was the victim.
“My dog sitter was in my apartment watching my dog while I was in the hospital. It was all chewed up. Her legs, back, and arms were all bitten. “
Zufelt said she was lucky to be able to stay with a friend who lives in Edgewater, which is owned by the Nipissing County Board of Directors for Social Services.
However, she was shocked to learn that it is her responsibility to clean her home after a three-day heat treatment to get rid of the bed bugs.
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She said with one arm in a cast and a PICC – or peripherally inserted central catheter line – in the other, it was virtually impossible to do the rigorous job of sanitizing the apartment, on top of the cost of washing every garment and laundry.
Zufelt said that because of her condition, a nurse told her not to do any physical activity for six to eight weeks.
“It’s not my fault, but I’m the one who suffers.”
Zufelt said she contacted the facility manager but her requests for help fell on deaf ears.
She and her friend Lisa Bouchard are long-time renters at Edgewater, and she said the bed bug problem has been a problem for more than a decade.
In 2020, there were more than five homes with bed bug infestations in Edgewater.
They say the building is like a revolving door that has been made worse by tenants with serious hoarding problems.
“This will never end,” said Bouchard. “We have had bed bugs for 10 years. You never really got rid of them, so they keep coming back. I’m sure they are everywhere, not just a few apartments. “
Bouchard said she was looking for other housing units but the cost is keeping her at Edgewater.
“We tried to get out, but we can’t find anything. So many people struggling with bed bug infestations have lost a lot of furniture and belongings. “
Calls to the Nipissing District Board of Directors for Social Services were not returned in a timely manner.
