Residents say there's a pesky problem at one mid-Michigan apartment complex -- bed bugs. Several of them contacted News 10 after, they say, they weren't getting answers from management.
Residents at Riverview Village in Eaton Rapids say management is not fixing a known problem with the pest fast enough.
Joan Coolman is one of those residents. She said management is outright ignoring them.
"They said he found nothing and that it was all clear," she told News 10's Barrett Tryon on Wednesday, referring to a previous inspection done inside her apartment.
But, she refused to take that as an answer. She took photos of the bed bugs and even hung a sign up inside her building that said "Be aware. Live bed bugs in this building as of 8/20 and 8/21. Management will not inspect until 8/23."
News 10 took those complaints to Kalamazoo, home of the headquarters for Medallion Management, which runs the complex. While the CEO did not want to go on camera to talk, he did say the issue was being handled.
The company said an inspector came to the complex on Thursday. Of the six units inspected, they reported back only one unit had a bed bug in it. It was found inside a bag from the day Coolman said she originally found one.
"I'm hoping they get them out of my apartment," Coolman said. "But I'm going to have to constantly check everything and probably keep spreading myself and hoping that I don't get them again."
The company said, in addition to specifically treating Coolman's apartment on Monday, a pest inspector proactively sprayed the building's hallways.
That might be too little, too late for Coolman.
"I'm going to move to a different apartment right away," she said. "I don't want to be in this building anymore. And when I move, I will probably be throwing away a lot of my stuff."
The management company said it will follow up with residents in case there are any new problems.
Bed bugs are most common during the summer because they love warmer weather. That's one reason heat treatments, like what is planned on Monday for Coolman's place, are a popular way to kill them.
The best way to avoid bed bugs altogether is to avoid buying used things, like furniture, and wash everything when you return from travel.
