RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - A Richmond woman said she has been collecting dozens of bed bugs in bottles and bags to prove her point. Anne-Alicia Moore said she collected the bugs to convince the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority to fix the bed bug problem in her apartment.
“It’s terrible, very terrible. It’s really bad. It’s mentally and physically horrible for me,” Moore said.
She said she started collecting the bugs after inspectors initially told her they could not find any in her home. She proved them wrong and then continued collecting the bugs because she said none of the eight treatments that followed worked to rid the problem.
Moore isn't the only RRHA resident dealing with severe bed bug infestation. The public housing authority confirmed inspectors detected bed bugs in more than 300 units during a recent city-wide inspection.
Since mid-August, we have exchanged emails and phone calls with RRHA leadership and even stopped by their headquarters to figure out why bed bugs are still a problem.
However, no one was willing to answers questions on camera.
So we took this issue to the State Health Department, who said they only regulate bed bugs in motels and hotels. However, they said they were aware of this problem in RRHA housing. The state said it appeared the city's bed bug treatments are not being administered properly.
“They have to do the whole building. They can't do one apartment at a time,” state entomologist Dr. David Gaines said.
Moore said she simply wanted her children to get a good night's rest.
“Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. It’s told every night. I can't tell my kids that at all,” Moore said.
RRHA Public Relations and Marketing Manager, Osita Iroegbu sent CBS 6 an email Tuesday Night, saying it does treat multiple units at a time, contrary to what Dr. Gaines speculates.
However, RRHA would not address our questions about the effectiveness of these repeated treatments or questions about their use and your tax dollars.
