Residents say bed bugs return to senior housing in Stamford

STAMFORD -- Bed bugs have again infested a downtown senior housing complex where officials last year thought they had won a long-fought battle with the blood-sucking insects, residents said.

Charter Oak Communities, the city housing authority, declared victory over the vermin at Stamford Manor last November after dozens of complaints prompted the quasi-public agency to systematically exterminate every floor of the Main Street building. The problem first became rampant in summer 2007, residents have said.

After a lull, some Stamford Manor residents now say the problem is reemerging at the building housing seniors and people with disabilities.

"That's the main conversation here is about the bugs," Stamford manor resident Darge Harris, 54, said. "It seemed like everything was OK, but they're back."

Harris, who still has blackened scars from the widespread bed bug scourge last year, said he started noticing bites again about four months ago. Several attempts to notify the management at the building have been thwarted, he said.

The woman in charge of taking maintenance requests has ignored his complaints, Harris said.

"She keeps telling me that I should clean my apartment," he said. "That was insulting to me, because it's like they're saying I'm dirty."

Nothing is out of place in Harris's fourth-floor apartment as he shows the studio where he said the insects are keeping him up at night. The floor is swept, the stove is a spotless white, and teacups sit in a perfect row on a kitchen counter. A white cushion drapes over the sofa, so that insects will be more visible, Harris said.

Harris points to blood stains on the bed spread. The stains are proof that the parasitic insects are in the apartment, he said.

"Someone should be able to do something about this," Harris said. "I'm saying, as a human being, I cannot continue living with bugs."

Harris, who is HIV positive, said his doctor wrote a letter last year stating that the insect problem was detrimental to his health because of the stress it was causing him.

Charter Oak Executive Director Vin Tufo said the authority has received "sporadic" bed bug complaints from Stamford Manor residents, but the problem does not appear as widespread as last year.

"The problem last year looks like it pretty well abated," Tufo said. "It seems to be under control."

Tufo said there have been about "half a dozen" bed bug reports in the last few months. Charter Oak has sent an exterminator -- Knock Out Exterminating -- about once every two months to treat apartments where residents reported problems, Tufo said.

Harris and other Stamford Manor residents said they believe neighbors are introducing bugs into the building by bringing in used furniture and trash. Residents sometimes discard items in the corridors and stairwells, and they remain there for days, Harris said.

"People bring stuff from the streets," said one resident, who did not wish to be named. "That's the major problem we're having, people just leave junk out in the hallways."

The resident, who did not want to reveal his identity because he feared it would cause trouble with building management, said maintenance often does not respond to such problems, even when residents report them.

Tufo said he had not heard of any residents discarding items in the building, but said Charter Oak would investigate if officials knew of such a case, especially if it contributed to bringing bed bugs into the building.

"If it was causing an exacerbation of the problem, we absolutely would step in," Tufo said.

Amy Lehaney, a city health inspector, said the last confirmed case of bed bugs at Stamford Manor was verified on June 3, when a resident brought in a bed bug. Charter Oak sent confirmation of extermination on July 3. Not all bed bug complaints reach the Health Department, as Charter Oak asks residents to make reports to the housing authority first.

The city received a sample from a resident at Stamford Manor on Nov. 13, but laboratory tests found it was a squash beetle, not a bed bug. Squash beetles are a type of lady bugs.


Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash contributed to this article
Sourced By: Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer