A YOUNG mum is terrified to let her baby daughter crawl on the floor of her disgusting bug-infested flat.
The 20-year-old mother, who preferred not to be named, described how she is “living in hell” at Trafford House, Basildon, where she has to kill an estimated 40 insects a day.
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The woman, who was horrified to discover the silverfish invasion at her new home in March, cried for days after moving in.
So many of the tiny, light grey insects have overrun the property that she’s too scared to let her 6-month-old daughter crawl or play on the floor.
The bugs are nocturnal and drawn to moisture – they also damage books, food, and clothing.
The young mum pays £1,175 a month for the contemporary flat close to the station where her life is a misery.
But she cannot even go to the toilet at night without having to squash a handful of the creepy crawlies.
Speaking about her daughter, she told the Basildon Echo: “She’s just learning to crawl, but I can’t put her on the floor as these insects could get into her nose, mouth or ears.
“How are we are meant to live like this?
“I pay thousands to live with insects and be kept up nearly every night by extremely loud music and screaming from neighbours.
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“The only way to describe living here is like living in hell.
“They are in my baby’s draws they are inside her nappies in the draws her clothes in my kitchen cupboards, they are just everywhere.”
She added: “It’s absolutely vile and it’s wrong as a human to be made to feel that I have to just live this way and deal with it.
“After I moved in and realised how bad it was I cried for days and days because I could not believe that I had done, I cannot live like this.”
The mother complained to Criterion, which manages the building, only to receive advice on dealing with silverfish infestations in response.
An email sent to her read: “Managing silverfish and firebrats can be challenging but a complete strategy that involves sanitation, de-humidification and natural insecticides can help remove the issue.”
Criterion has been approached for a comment.
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