Residents say bug problems persist at Durham's JFK Towers

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Senior citizens at JFK Towers in north Durham say they are fed up with bedbugs and roaches.

According to residents, pest-control treatment is supposed to happen each Monday.

But Bonnie Page said that is not happening.

"It is people here getting ate up by bugs every single day," said Page. "I got on the elevator. There were three bedbugs in the elevator."

Page, 58, said pests are running rampant at JFK Towers, which is an affordable housing community off North Roxboro Road.

Page and her neighbors first told ABC11 about the problem in June.

Millennia, the new management company that will assume ownership of JFK from current owner Global Ministries Foundation, said residents who have pest problems are on a routine pest-control schedule since our report first aired.

But new tenant Debbie St. Clair said that's not true.

"Monday was supposed to be my Monday for the exterminator to come and exterminate my apartment for the cockroaches. I took everything out of my kitchen cabinets, I had stacked them on my table and the exterminator never came," St Clair says. "I was puzzled because I exhausted myself so they could spray."

Valerie Jerome, a spokeswoman for Millennia told ABC11 by email:

"As the management company, we understand the importance of regular pest management services. We are working with the owner to acquire the resources necessary to continue to a robust and continuous pest management strategy at JFK Towers. The next treatment is scheduled for Wednesday, and we anticipate these treatments to continue on a regular basis. As always, pest management is a partnership, and we continue to encourage residents to use best practices to minimize bedbug exposure and potential infestation."

Residents are skeptical but hopeful.

"They have got to get more on top of what's going on here. This is horrible," St. Clair said.