PITTSBURGH — A woman says her Strip District apartment is infested with bed bugs.
The tenant, who was too afraid to show her face, says she was looking forward to living at the Mulberry Lofts, having been promised and said she was promised luxury accommodations for a premium price of $2,400 a month.
But when she moved in this summer, the unit was anything but luxury. It had bugs and rat droppings throughout the unit
“I thought this was going to be a brand-new, clean place, very well maintained,” she said.
The tenant moved in this summer from out of state, and said from the outside everything appeared fine, but when she walked inside, she knew something was immediately wrong.
“There were dead bugs everywhere in the unit.”
She showed photos of bugs in the kitchen, on the window and in the bedroom. The unit also had an odor.
“It smelled like someone had sprayed Raid, just throughout the building.”
She contacted the building manager, who said maintenance would handle the problem, but they did not. The tenant says that, after weeks, things still were not addressed and quickly worsened.
“Over the next few days, I started getting bites. I was waking up with them, and I wasn’t sure where it was coming from, and then I saw little blood stains on the sheets, and that freaked me out.”
After going to urgent care, she confirmed the bites were from bed bugs. But the pest problems didn’t stop there. In the following days, she noticed black droppings in the bedroom.
She paid out of pocket for an inspection.
The company Xceptional Wildlife confirmed there was evidence of a rodent and recommended a rodent trapping program and exterior treatment
The health department confirmed a complaint was made and said they contacted the building’s owners, Oxide Real Estate Development, and the management company Coastal Ridge Real Estate.
The owners now have until Monday to address the issue or the health department will schedule an inspection.
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