An Ayrshire mum has told of her struggle against an infestation of creepy crawlies which have overrun her flat.
Denise Sommerville, 36, has been plagued by the bugs for seven years with the pests coming out from underneath her sink, behind her cooker and from beneath the floorboards.
The mum-of-three who has a two-year-old faces a constant battle against the beetle-like bugs which shed their shell before they grow into bigger beasts each year at her flat in George Square in Ayr.
Despite calls to the council to get rid of the bugs, Denise has become so fed-up with the situation that she wants to move, with the fight dragging her down.
Denise, 36, told Ayrshire Live how she has become so embarrassed by the problem which she says are giving other neighbours grief in Wallacetown.
She said: “I have been dealing with these bugs since I moved into these flats, every year the same thing happens.
“It’s really quite an embarrassing thing to have to deal with in your home, it's getting to the stage where I want to leave, it is just dragging me down.
“It’s beyond a joke now, to have to keep dealing with this.”
Denise has been told to keep her house clean and not have any debris lying about which attracts the bugs.
But no matter what she does Denise feels it’s an impossible task to keep control of things as the bugs appear through the night.
She added: “I’ve found them in the kitchen drawer, they start in the places that you can’t reach. But they have been in the boys bedrooms and the bathrooms as well.
“I pull the dog bed out and it is covered in them, they are attracted to debris and I do my best to keep the place tidy but it’s so hard to keep on top of it all.”
The Wallacetown beetles come after the community council called for improvements to the area after years of neglect and ‘harrowing’ conditions.
Denise, a community councillor, feels the bugs are just another example of council ‘apathy’ as she hits out at their lack of action.
She said: “I’ve spoken to neighbours about them, some people have told me that these problems have existed for 20 years in Wallacetown.
“I complain about them every year. It is getting beyond a joke now, I could complain a lot more, it’s just council apathy.”
A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said: “A treatment of this property was carried out by our officers in July 2020 following a call to the service. Any further infestation problems should be reported to Environmental Health who will arrange to carry out treatment.”
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