‘Scared’ girl slams WA Housing Authority’s sluggish response to ‘excessive’ termite invasion

A Geraldton resident says she cannot sleep at night while a termite infestation grows in the bedroom ceiling of her state-owned home.

Important points:

• A woman finds an “extreme” infestation of termites in her Geraldton home
• The house is provided by the Department of Communities
• The resident was told that it will take a month before a damage assessment can be made

Jill Ugle, a tenant in a house supplied by the Department of Communities, first noticed holes in her bedroom ceiling two weeks ago.

“I’m scared I can’t sleep, I just think is this roof going to collapse or what is going to happen?” She said.

“It could hurt us … it could break down anytime.

“It’s pretty dangerous to live in this situation.”

Ms. Ugle said she and her family lived in the apartment for six years, during which time there was never a termite inspection by the Department of Communities.

According to Ms. Ugle, the roof collapsed from termite damage to a neighboring house in Geraldton. ((

ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt: Francesca Mann

)

“Like something paranormal”

On Wednesday May 19, Ms. Ugle posted a photo of protrusions dangling from her ceiling on social media.

She asked if anyone knew what the strange growths might be – and the consensus was that the dangling pillars were caused by termites.

“I didn’t know what it was, but my son thought it was something from the Paranormal Activity movie that was playing around the house and my husband thought it was tree roots,” she said.

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After Ms. Ugle posted the picture, she had assistance from a local pest controller to assess the damage.

“”[The pest controller] came out on his lunch break to have a look because he was really concerned.

“He said this is what they do (tunnel) when there are no more food resources … this is their last resort, to show them that it is extreme.

“He said in all of his [46] Years of working, he has only seen it twice as bad, and the roof was completely destroyed by them. ”

Wait four weeks for the evaluation

After contacting the Department of Communities, Ms. Ugle was told that she would have to wait 28 days for an expert to assess the damage and then determine whether it was caused by termites.

The termite tunnels dangle from Ms. Ugle’s bedroom ceiling. (

Delivered: Jill Ugle

)

A representative from the Ministry of Communities visited Ms. Ugle’s home to photograph the tunnels but said no formal assessment would be made until June 16.

“I was just shocked, I wanted now that I knew the extreme damage they were doing in such a short amount of time, I wanted them to come out and fix the problem as soon as possible.

“It is devastating to know that it will take so long, it is too long.”

After repeated inquiries from the ABC, the Department of Communities announced that a contractor had been sent to the property to check the structural security of the ceiling.

In a statement, Lindsay Hale, the department’s executive director of service delivery, said the “structural integrity of the ceiling and roof is solid with no safety concerns for occupants”.

“The responsibility for controlling termite infestation rests with the communities and repairs are a priority,” he said.

Nowhere else to go

Due to the high demand for craftsmen and services, as well as the housing shortage in the Midwest, Ms. Ugle said she did not know where to move if the house was deemed unsafe.

“It hit us all of a sudden, there is no time to think,” she said.

“Since we are so serious we are all shocked [thinking] ‘What can we do, where can we go?’. ‘”