When Langley City resident Danielle Arbour heard the scratching and tapping sounds in the walls of her unit in the Centennial Manor, she thought it was noise from a neighbouring suite.

In the 20 years she and her daughter have lived in the subsidized housing complex currently managed by the Langley Lions Housing Society (LLHS) in the 20600 block of Eastleigh Crescent in Langley City, they had never had a pest problem.

91裸聊视频淚 keep my place clean,91裸聊视频� she told the Langley Advance Times.

Then, about two months ago, mice appeared, running across her living room carpet.

91裸聊视频淲e found out [about the mice] from another neighbour who has had them for over seven months,91裸聊视频� Arbour recalled.

91裸聊视频淎nd by then it was too late and they were in our unit.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭hey chewed a hole into my living room,91裸聊视频� Arbour elaborated.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 numerous holes in my stairs.91裸聊视频�

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She found a 91裸聊视频渉uge nest91裸聊视频� behind her fridge.

After that, she said, cockroaches arrived from another suite.

For the last months, she and her 24-year-old daughter Elizabeth McCallum have been battling the infestation.

They estimate they have trapped more than a dozen mice over a two month period.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the stuff of nightmares and horror movies,91裸聊视频� McCallum commented.

Arbour estimates they have spent hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies.

At least two other suites in the subsidized housing complex have reported similar infestations.

On the advice of a pest control company, Arbour is keeping all her food in glass jars.

Food for her elderly 14-year-old dog Shi Tzu Zoey is now kept in the fridge, and Arbour washes out the dish immediately after feedings.

Doors have been taken off closets, and mice have chewed holes in the living room sofa-bed, she said.

91裸聊视频淚 saved up four years to buy that couch,91裸聊视频� Arbour related. 91裸聊视频淣ow, I can91裸聊视频檛 use it.91裸聊视频�

After a nest was discovered in a freezer, in the back where the compressor motor is, it was unplugged and now sits in her front yard.

Arbour said the infestation appeared to coincide with the recent demolition of some older townhouses on the same street.

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Jeanette Dagenais, LLHS executive director, said the society has received 91裸聊视频渃onfirmed reports from sources that state that the increase in mice is most likely due to the demolitions.91裸聊视频�

Dagenais said the society has a pest control contract 91裸聊视频渨ith a reputable company that we have been working with for years of whom we have every confidence on their ability to deal with rodents and pests such as cockroaches.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚n addition, our employees in the maintenance department have been working diligently to plug all holes and crevices with steel wool as was recommended by the pest control company,91裸聊视频� Dagenais said.

LLHS took over management of the 36-unit building in 2008 after it was approached by another society.

Carl Johannsen, Langley City director of development services, said the City has begun requiring what are known as 91裸聊视频渞odent letters91裸聊视频� from developers before any demolition proceeds 91裸聊视频� a document that shows the premises have been inspected by a recognized pest control agency to ensure the the demolitions don91裸聊视频檛 displace rats and mice to nearby buildings.

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 want to have problems with rodents,91裸聊视频� Johannsen commented.

At the time of the Eastleigh demolitions, letters were not an automatic requirement, but Johannsen said the developer has told the City that there did not appear to be a problem prior to the teardown.

Langley Township also requires rodent letters.

For Arbour, the stress of battling mice and bugs is taking an emotional toll.

91裸聊视频淚 feel like a complete failure and I91裸聊视频檓 getting severely depressed, and we are both struggling with severe emotional distress and anxiety,91裸聊视频� she expressed.

Arbour, who is on disability, said she and her daughter are trying to find another place, but there doesn91裸聊视频檛 appear to be anything in their price range.

This is a building with seniors, disabled and low income families mostly single moms and we can not afford to move,91裸聊视频� she said.

She has even, out of desperation, looked into staying at homeless shelters.

dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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