Residents Living in Terror Over Insects
posted 9:22 am Thu February 28, 2008 - Washington
Some of the people at Langston Terrace housing project say living there is more than difficult, it's torturous. "They were just flying all around crawling all on the floor." Amber McDonald grabbed a lint brush to swat at swarms of termites, then she went for a can of bug spray. The carcasses of dead termites litter her floor. "They look like flies. They was black with white wings," said Amber's daughter Tora.
The insects continued to pour into her townhome from the very walls meant to protect her family. In desperation, McDonald ran next door for help and found her neighbors also under attack.
"They was swarming everywhere. They was falling down the steps. They was coming from everywhere," said resident Markeisha Simms.Dead termites and remnants of them cover the floors of the townhomes. The resident point to holes in the walls and ceiling, providing entry point for thousands of termites.
Langston Terrace is a D.C. Housing Authority property. The resident have appealed to the property manager for help and also got a health inspector to come by. They wonder how a situation like this can occur here. Just five months ago, Langston Terrace came under scrutiny when a pack of rodents devoured a paraplegic boy's feeding tube, leaving him without a mean of nourishment. Housing officials moved the family to a new home.
The residents say exterminators already tried to rid the buildings of termites by drilling holds in the floors and injecting insecticide into them. Amber McDonald hopes somehow she can get her children out of Langston Terrace. "We can not live, my children can not live in this house with these termites."
The property manager says they will try exterminators again. Residents say they tried it before and it didn't work so they don't hold out much hope for the plan.
Latest Comment on Residents Living in Terror Over Insects
Eboy
3:47 pm on 02/28/08
Around the world, lots of people eat termites. I have never tried them, but I understand termites are very nutritious, and especially when lightly fried, reasonably tasty.
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