PENSIONERS have told of how they wake up at night with bugs on their faces after their nightmare neighbour let the critters lose and caused an infestation.
The South London residents say they’re at their wit’s end after being treated with “utter disdain” by their housing provider.
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They say their constant pleas to have the insects eradicated have gone unanswered.
Maggie Jones, 69, is one of the many who lives in PA Housing’s Oak House, a social housing block in Putney, and is struggling with the cricket invasion.
Maggie told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her home feels like a “death house”, MyLondon reported.
She said: “I’ve had them on my kitchen work surface, in my bathroom and in my bedroom.
“[Another resident] was woken up in the middle of the night with them crawling over his face.”
Maggie said the insect issues started about a year ago – and her neighbour is to blame.
She said the resident has a pet tarantula, which is fed crickets, and the critters escaped into the piping system.
Maggie, who pays £800 a month for her one-bed flat, said she and other residents had been “battling with PA” ever since.
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Another of her neighbours Chris Maher, 72, said his flat had been infested with crickets for around two weeks, “meaning I couldn’t sleep”.
And, another resident, Beverley Tucker, 70, said they were “horrible” and that she had heard them across the hallway with her door closed.
Last week, the housing association sent pest control to fumigate utility cupboards and had laid down cricket traps in the past, but Maggie said the entire building needs fumigating.
She and other residents are also up in arms as they went almost a week without heating and hot water this month.
They say there is also a hole in the communal lounge’s ceiling following a leak last week, and it still hasn’t been repaired.
The group have criticised the overall maintenance of the building and garden, too.
They say there had been a rotten bench sitting near unusable for at least three years, as well as overgrown bushes and a shed in disrepair.
We are working with residents to gain access to each flat so we can ensure the issue is completely eradicated.
Maria Frawley
Maggie added: “When it comes to actually looking after us and responding to us, they treat us with utter disdain… they don’t answer emails.
“Not once have they sent us an email reassuring us about the cost of living and what they’re doing to help us. We haven’t heard anything.”
PA Housing told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they are working to get the crickets eradicated, as well as the other repairs.
Maria Frawley, assistant director of property services and repairs at PA Housing, said: “We are really sorry that customers living in our independent living scheme, Oak House, have reported that they are unhappy about the service they’ve recently received.
“We arranged for a specialist pest control contractor to revisit the building [on October 24] to carry out another treatment, following a further report of a cricket found in the hallway.
“While our contractor found minimal traces of crickets in the communal areas, as part of their follow-up visit next week, we are working with residents to gain access to each flat so we can ensure the issue is completely eradicated.”
She added: “Our grounds maintenance team are scheduled to visit every fortnight and, following their last visit, raised concerns that they had not been able to access some of the surrounding bushes or shed.
“Ahead of their next visit, we will be liaising with residents to ensure there are no vehicles or belongings restricting the contractor from carrying out the scheduled works.
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“In addition, our contractor is scheduled to visit this Friday to carry out remedial works to the communal ceiling following a leak from the flat above.
“While we are working to resolve any outstanding repairs as quickly as possible, our team will be contacting residents at Oak House directly to discuss any further queries they may have.”
