Emma Graham, of the Roosevelt Houses in Bedstuy, has been pleading for help for over a month, and has to sleep in a corner in her living room in order to avoid the insects.
Graham claims she's been bitten over 100 times. Her arms and back are covered in bite marks.
She was told by the Brooklyn Borough Management office to use alcohol on a metrocard to get to places she couldn't reach, and told they would get to her by the end of September.
"I have placed a few calls myself into the borough managers office to ask why someone would offer such dumb and insensitive advice to a resident who is a senior and should be given the utmost respect and support possible. If I have to call the Mayor out on this, we need to insure that this family gets immediate attention to help eradicate this problem as soon as possible, this is unacceptable!!!....stated Community Advocate Tony Herbert of the Urban Community Council.
Graham has bagged up all of her clothes, her dressers are empty, and still the bugs won't go away.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, I just don't know," she said.
After Eyewitness News made a phone call, The Housing Authority showed up at Ms. Graham's house, and are inspecting the situation. They say they are very behind schedule due to the bed bug problem in New York City over the past few weeks.
Click here to see the Nina Pineda 7 On Your Side report on bed bugs featured on Up Close.
If you have a bed bug problem, please contact us by clicking here.
Additional resources below:
EPA Bed Bug Summit
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/bedbug-summit/index.html
Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Topics/bedbugs.htm
How to get rid of bed bugs
http://www.orkin.com/other/bed-bugs/
Health advice from the Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bedbugs/DS00663
See bed bugs? Here's where to report them.
http://bedbugregistry.com/
General info about bed bugs
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs/
