PLEASE HELP Bed Bug Infestation and dispute with council

steve888

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[FONT=&quot]Helo moneysavers
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[FONT=&quot]can anyone advise me as to what I can do to address the matter above
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[FONT=&quot]1. any legal experts on here who can advise if the council has been negligent in thier duties ?- we would like them to take action immedtaiely and are writing to MP and concillours
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[FONT=&quot]2.what can I buy from B&Q etc to treat the bed bugs whilst I solve my aunts dispute with the council?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]this is causing my auunt a lot of worry at the moment- see her letter to the council below. she is a single mun who lives in council accomodation with three children[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]thanks for any help[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]steve
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I would like to ask for urgent action on a major health hazard which the council need to take responsibility for in order to protect the health and well being of my child and myself.

I have recently found out that my neighbour had an infestation of bed bugs which the council came to treat 18 months ago. Dispute the obvious risks the council did not inform me (I am a tenant in council accommodation) of the potential risk to my family and the need for me to look at for this risk. I believe that the council has been negligent in its duty to ensure that it tenants are not subject to a public health hazard

The background to this is as follows

I noticed a single dead bed bug in the third week in Dec 08. I have contacted the council at the time and they said that I will have to pay £60 for 2 inspection visits and the futher osts dependant on the infestation- at the time as their was only one bug I it may have come through the window. At this n ( and I hadn't realised that there had been an infestation of bed bugs next door I because the council had not told me. Had the council told me to watch out for this risk I would have raised the alarm and discussed with council the urgent situation?





However on Friday 21st Jan following my daughter complaining of numerous insect bites she received when asleep I decided to investigate the bedroom and was shocked and alarmed to discover thousands of bugs in the bed and the floorboards. My daughter also saw all of the bugs and was very upset to think that she had been sleeping in the bedroom with these thousands of bed bugs

Over this weekend I have now had to take my daughters beds out into the garden and throw all of the bedding away. I am very upset by this. I have tried to clear the bugs as best I can but I understand that the rooms need to be treated with powerful insecticide by professional



I feel that council should have told me and the other tenants at risk that there was an infestation of Bed Bugs in the area and advise me to keeping an eye on the bedrooms for any sign of bugs. This is after all a health hazard and I have a 10 year old daughter. My daughter has been badly affected by this mentally and now is scared of sleeping in the bedroom and she will not go into the bedrooms
Now it too late and I have an infestation- and I Cannot afford to pay the treatment costs and the costs of replacing the items that I have to throw away

I have to throw away the throw bed linen away and it is going to be hard to replace them because I cannot afford it
I would like the council to urgently & immediately Come and treat my house and kill the bed bugs at no cost to myself

If the council refuses to do this I will have no choice but court action

In the court action I will ask the court to require the council because of their negligence in not informing the tenants of the risk and the distress this has caused me and my family to

Pay for the professional treatment of removing the bugs from the house
Pay for replacement costs of the bedding and beds and mattresses
Compensate my family for the distress caused by this situation
Given the urgent situation I would like an immediate response to this matter- by 4th Feb 2009. I am contacting my MP and local councillor regarding this matter- but I would like to settle this with the council direct in the next few days – rather than taking the other action.

I hope given the situation that the council will react immediately to address the situtaion. I look forward o hear from you by FEB 4th 2009.My address is XXXXXXXXXXXXX
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paddy's_mum

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you at all.

I strongly suspect that you will find that there are laws to prevent the council from telling someone's private business to all and sundry. In my view, the council would have been utterly wrong to have told anyone, neighbour or not, about the original infestation. Would your aunt like it if the council told her neighbours that she had treatment last year for some embarassing medical condition or other? Should VD clinics publish lists of who in the neighbourhood has the clap, in order to protect against future infection?

I would be surprised if an infestation that was dealt with eighteen months ago has any relevance to this new outbreak but I am not an expert on the habits of bed bugs.

I wish your aunt a happy outcome but my belief is that the council have no obligations whatever in the matter and writing to your MP and councillors is unlikely to achieve what you expect.

MX5huggy

Exactly,

Who recomended throwing out the bedding it just needed washing on a hot wash. The mattress may be another matter. Which council is this?

Edinburghlass_2

Actually I googled it and found this...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2008/02/15/london_bed_bugs_s13_w2_feature.shtml

I would wonder too if the aunt is warning all her neighbours about her current infestation or would object if the council told them?

carefullycautious

bed bugs thrive on the dried skin we shed daily. The op can irradicate this problem by hoovering her mattresses regulary and washing bedding on hot wash. However, as this seems to have got out of hand she will probably need someone to come in the spray with insecticide. I agree with others the council are not under any obligation to inform other tenents on what to most of us is a preventable problem with good housekeeping practices

MX5huggy

Bed bugs arn't intrested in dead skin all they want is your blood!

Sagaris

carefullycautious wrote: »

bed bugs thrive on the dried skin we shed daily. The op can irradicate this problem by hoovering her mattresses regulary and washing bedding on hot wash. However, as this seems to have got out of hand she will probably need someone to come in the spray with insecticide. I agree with others the council are not under any obligation to inform other tenents on what to most of us is a preventable problem with good housekeeping practices

I thought they fed on blood, not dead skin, hence the nasty bite marks people wake up with after sleeping on infected bedding?
I think you can buy heavy duty insecticide from Robert Dyas, B&Q etc but it's pretty nasty stuff, might be best to contact the council for advice at least. They could have come into the house in lots of ways, including in a mattress if once has been bought int o the house recently, on bedding, curtains or even in clothes if someone has stored them in an infected area.
Nasty things!

Browntoa

I'm sure data protection would stop them revealing it to the neighbours

Fire_Fox

It's dust mites that feed on dead skin I think.

steve888

Thanks for the constrcutive responses from some of you

To those going on about data p;rotection etc- if you read the letter properly you would have seen that the letter stated in the local area- IE NOT IDENTIFYING THE NEIGHBOUR

Also the info from the Bed Bugs experts is as follows ( cut and pasted below). GIVEN THIS RISK I am sure that my aunt wouldnt mind the council sending a few letters to the houses in the street- to avoid them also having this situation. She has warned the neighbour on the other side already- this is about the community looking out for eacghother- although some of the people who have resoponded cleary dont hae this approach
The infestation next door bwas no doubt gradual and the erradiaction can take a while
Insterestinly in Oldham they talke this risk very seriuosly and offer to erradicate it at no cost for thier tenants

Thansk again for the responses from people who have a sense of community

Suzy_M

I think she would be struggling to prove the bugs originated from her neighbour's house. With the numbers she is suggesting I'm sure she would have noticed them much earlier had they been from the original infestation a year and a half ago. Anyone in your aunt's house been on any foreign holidays recently, bought or been given any furniture, even soft toys etc. etc. etc. all of which may have brought the infestaton in.

What is your aunt's priority - dealing with the problem or screwing what she can out of the council? I'm sorry but the tone of her letter suggests the latter. If it is dealing with the problem I think the council's fees sound very reasonable.