Residents might have to wait a bit until Barrie Housing deals with a cockroach problem at 225 Kozlov St.
They received a note Friday saying a pest control company would inspect Northfields, a three-storey walkup, and its 53 units. If necessary, a hole would be drilled into lower kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities for preventative or treatment purposes.
Should more attention be needed, the pest controllers would follow up next Friday (Aug. 27).
Danielle Callander, who lives in the building with her husband Mark and three-year-old daughter Meadow, says that’s not nearly enough.
“No, I don’t think this is going to do anything, because today (Friday) they’re fogging my neighbour’s apartment again for like the eighth or seventh time, so tonight I’m probably going to have cockroaches come under my doors again, because… that’s what happens,” she told BarrieToday. “I don’t think it’s going to do anything unless they’re treating every apartment, every month or every couple of months… forever.
“Because the building is so full of cockroaches that this has to be done. They’re all in the vents, they’re in the hallways," added Callander.
On Friday morning, BarrieToday asked Barrie Housing a number of questions about the situation at Northfields. They included the extent of the infestation, how many units or other areas of the building were affected, what is being done about it by pest controllers, when would this happen, when would it be finished, are sprays, powders and gel being used in every room and hallway? And what is being done by Barrie Housing so this doesn't happen again?
Barrie Housing CEO Mary Anne Denny-Luck responded in an email.
“The management team at Barrie Housing, alongside with our pest control contractor, have assessed the extent of the cockroach infestation at 225 Kozlov,” she said. “We have identified the units, common rooms and hallways that are affected, and have noted that infestation is not throughout the building.
“We have created and implemented a comprehensive plan to treat, monitor and prevent cockroaches from happening using a variety of treatment methods," Denny-Luck added.
Denny-Luck did not immediately reply to a request for further clarification and answers to questions.
Callander questions whether Barrie Housing’s approach will work because of the nature of the pests.
“A lot of them (cockroaches) come in through the holes in the doors. In the furnace room they’re by the pipes, so they’ll come in at night and maybe not even necessarily go in our kitchen and our bathroom,” she said. “(They’re) coming through our windows because there’s cracks in the windows, the balcony doors.
“I guess it’s a step somewhere, in some direction,” Callander said of Barrie Housing’s measures. “I’m hoping if they can finally get this under control, that they’ll be coming in monthly or every couple of months to actually put down gel in every unit, because I think that’s the only way we’re going to combat this, and I’m hoping… that they clean the vents in this building.
"Last winter, I couldn’t even turn my heat on. I was too scared roach feces were going to come into my apartment.”
The Callanders say the cockroach problem is not a recent occurrence. Mark Callander requested a work order more than a year ago — on Aug. 10, 2020 — from Barrie Housing to deal with the problem.
“We have a cockroach problem,” he said in a copy of the work order, which was obtained by BarrieToday. “We are not the only unit experiencing these pests. Everyone I have spoken to on my floor has them and would like something done about it right away.”
Callander then went on to speak of Northfields’ condition.
“This building has become a disaster over the last year. It is poorly kept,” he said. “There are squirrels living in the roof of the building that I’ve reported. The floors get vacuumed maybe twice a month at best. How can the bug population be controlled at all if the hallways aren’t even vacuumed?”
He also said half-measures won’t work.
“I believe that a complete fumigation of the building is something that needs to be seriously considered,” he said. “Fumigating one apartment at a time does nothing to help the population of cockroaches. They simply move to a different apartment.”
Danielle Callander said she received an email from Barrie Housing on Friday, setting up an appointment next Wednesday at 9 a.m. to meet with Denny-Luck, the building manager and the tenant services manager.
