It was bad enough that a Wyandotte, Michigan house had a cockroach infestation so severe the residents living there were told to vacate the premises, but now the problem has spread throughout the neighborhood.
The infestation got so out of control that the city placed barricades and signs for four hours on Halloween and discouraged trick-or-treating in the affected area so that insecticide can be sprayed.
The infested house is located in the 3500 block of 20th Street. Although the problem is coming to a head now, this is not a new issue.
According to City Engineer Greg Mayhew, the city’s involvement in this case began on Aug. 12, when Wyandotte police made a wellness check on the residence and found unsanitary conditions, including numerous cockroaches.
Neighbors said the reason for the wellness check occurred on a trash pickup day. One of those neighbors, Tom Vargo, said that a worker picking up trash at the house in question noticed something moving after the garbage had been tossed into the back of the truck.
“It was filled with roaches,” Vargo said.
The trash hauler reported what he found to city officials, who took immediate action.
A report addressed to the homeowner and placed on the front door states that a Wyandotte police officer who conducted the wellness check observed numerous property maintenance violations, as well as unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
Among the violations and general unsanitary conditions that the city cites in the letter include foul odors, garbage, junk, debris and litter strewn and piled in the kitchen and throughout the dwelling. The city states that floors were cluttered and dirty and that all visible rooms, including the kitchen sink and appliances, toilet and bathtub, needed to be cleaned and sanitized.
Lastly, the city listed an insect infestation throughout the house.
On the week of Aug. 15 the occupants began cleaning out the dwelling, but according to Mayhew, their cleanup effort was neither careful nor complete.
Vargo said part of the problem was that the occupants tossed very little into a huge dumpster provided by the city and instead took most of the house’s contents into the backyard and left them uncovered.
“Soon after, my neighbors were discovering roaches in their house,” Vargo said. “A local Wyandotte hardware business asked my neighbor where she lived because she was purchasing anti-roach products. Apparently citizens on different streets in our neighborhood are buying the same kind of supplies, so this problem has gone off the rails.”
According to Mayhew, the city has addressed the cockroach problem since Aug. 19, when it employed its pest control contractor to spray the affected house, as well as the dwelling to the north and south.
However, based on the reports coming from neighbors, the infestation appears to have spread beyond the houses on either side of the infested dwelling, which is the reason why the city has decided to expand the treatment area.
Mayhew said that the property owner failed to completely clean and sanitize the house and yard by the deadline that was given to her in the letter, so a show cause hearing was held on Sept. 28.
“They attended and said they would take care of it by Oct. 28,” Mayhew said. “Apparently (they) failed as indicators show roaches still around the dwelling and exterior,” adding that the cleanup of the property was far from complete.
Area residents approached the Wyandotte City Council on two occasions. Mayhew said the first time resulted in an increase in the treatment area, which was stepped up to twice a week and included sidewalks, lawns between the sidewalk and curb, and the curb line. This took place on both sides of 20th Street, and the west side of 19th Street, from Pine to approximately 11 dwellings south of Pine.
“Also, we offered treatment of their properties, if they requested, by treating the foundation perimeter and lawn area,” Mayhew said.
But that still proved to be not enough.
Residents showed up at the Oct. 24 council meeting, at which point the council determined it to be in the best interest of residents to close 20th Street, from Eureka Road to Grove Street.
Residents who live in the affected block were sent a letter on Oct. 25, informing them that in order to prevent further migration of the cockroaches, this closure will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Halloween.
“Barricades and signage will be placed on the street and at sidewalks at Grove, the intersections of Orchard and Pine, and at Eureka, closing the street and sidewalk to vehicles and pedestrians,” the letter states. “It is recommended that trick-or-treating be discouraged in this area.”
At about noon on Monday, a similar announcement was made to the city as a whole on Wyandotte’s Facebook page.
The post states that there have been no reports of any roach infestation occurring outside the immediate area. The city also clarified that trick-or-treating will go on as planned throughout the rest of the city, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The city also issued a statement from Mayor Robert DeSana.
“Although this is an unfortunate incident for the residents of this block, they, as well as all residents of Wyandotte can be reassured that the city is taking every measure legally possible to eliminate the source of this infestation including spraying of insecticide along sidewalks, the lawn area between the sidewalk and street, and along the curb line in certain areas of the street in the affected area,” DeSana said.
When news of the infestation hit social media over the weekend, several people posted photos of a man wearing a cockroach costume, with one person referring to it as “the official 2022 costume of Wyandotte.”
While some people have taken a light-hearted view of the situation, especially since the street closure is taking place on Halloween, those affected by it aren’t laughing.
Vargo said many of his neighbors are senior citizens, some with pre-existing health conditions, and this whole thing has been emotionally distressing for them.
He said he and some of his neighbors plan to meet with city officials later this week to make sure the matter is resolved, once and for all.
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