Bed bugs at James Plaza Apartments, Cleveland, Ohio
By nobugsonme on Aug 6, 2008 in James Plaza Apartments, bed bugs, bedbugs, cleveland, landlords, landlords and tenants, ohio, tenants
I loved the headline of this article accompanying news video from WBNS 10TV:
“Bed Bugs Infest Apartment Building.” News at five.
Seriously, what would the world be like if every infested building was featured in just one major local news story? I can’t help having this thought when I see such headlines.
Sadly, that’s where my amusement ended.
The James Plaza Apartments in Cleveland is battling bed bugs, and after repeated treatments, bed bugs are still going strong. One tenant told reporters she’s moving out (good luck to her new neighbors!) and another wept as she described her bed bug experience.
Not to be upstaged, the management company made it clear who they feel is to blame:
Ebner Properties issued a statement to 10TV News, saying, “One of the apartment industry’s biggest fears is for a tenant to bring bed bugs into the community because it can entail such a lengthy and extensive treatment program.”
Wow. I’m speechless.
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truckster | Aug 6, 2008 | Reply
It seems that landlords are the original victims (unless they actually infest the apts themselves)
nobugsonme | Aug 6, 2008 | Reply
truckster,
Landlords suffer from bed bugs along with (though differently from) tenants.
You should consider, however, that if one tenant brings bed bugs in, all the other tenants are also victims, and paying customers.
truckster | Aug 7, 2008 | Reply
nobugsonme, That doesn’t negate the fact that the landlords didn’t necessarily cause the problem and are now saddled with a potentially huge expense.
nobugsonme | Aug 8, 2008 | Reply
truckster,
It would probably help if we had this conversation in one place (the forums, or if you prefer one thread of blog comments), rather than having it all over different comment threads.
If you read Bedbugger regularly, then you know I am sympathetic to landlords, the costs and stress they’re dealing with when bed bugs hit their buildings. I have often suggested, for example, that government assistance be provided to both homeowners and landlords in treating bed bugs.