A Wolverhampton mother says her young children have been left to sleep on the floor after a bed bug infestation became so severe that they could no longer use their beds. Kay Johnson, 37, has described how the family's life has been turned upside down, with her daughter waking up crying in the night from itching.
Family forced to sleep on floor after bed bugs return
Earlier this year, Kay Johnson, a mum of three, said her husband and children started finding bite marks all over their bodies. Initially, she believed the bites were from playing outside and appealed to doctors for help. However, a disturbing discovery revealed the true cause: the children's beds were covered in bed bugs.
"We started seeing brown marks everywhere, we started lifting the beds up and my children's beds were covered in bed bugs," Kay told BirminghamLive. She described how her daughter now wakes up at 2am or 3am in the morning, crying and saying she is itching constantly. On the morning of August 13, she had another bite on her arm.
Pest control treatments fail to eradicate infestation
Kay reported the issue to her housing association, Midland Heart, on July 25. Pest control fumigated the bed bugs on July 31, but just two days later, the bugs returned. "There were more bed bugs. They were all over the children's bed, and they were all underneath my box bed," she said. The bugs could be found "under the seams" and "in the slats" of the beds.
As a result, the family has been forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor, as the children's backs were hurting on the wooden floor. A second pest control visit on August 10 also failed to solve the problem. "They've been out twice and these bed bugs are still around, so even their treatment's not killing them," Kay said.
Mother begs for rehousing as housing association responds
Kay has asked Midland Heart to put her on emergency banding to move out of the property. "We're all stuck at this very minute. We've got no beds to sleep on, we're sleeping on the floor," she said. "I am begging them to get me out of this property."
A spokesperson for Midland Heart said on Friday, August 14: "This issue was reported to us three weeks ago and, since then, we have arranged for specialist pest control contractors to attend the property on two occasions, with further treatment scheduled for next week. Bed bug infestations can be complex and often require multiple visits before they are fully eradicated.
"While there is no evidence of a wider problem affecting the other properties in the street, we're continuing to work closely with our specialist contractors to monitor the situation and ensure the appropriate treatment is carried out. We completely understand how distressing this situation is for Ms Johnson and her family. As well as arranging ongoing treatment, we also offered support through our Money Advice team to help with the cost of replacing affected furniture, but this was declined. We remain in regular contact with Ms Johnson and are committed to doing everything we reasonably can to eradicate the infestation and support the household while the treatment programme continues."
