Mayfield family’s horror at beetle infestation

A young Mayfield family have spoken of their horror at living in an beetle-infested flat, with landlord Melville Housing hoping to rectify the problem.

Just some of the beetles, collected in a tub last week by Emma.

Emma Cullen (23), her fiancee Daniel Severn (27) and their children, eight month old Daniel Jnr and two year-old Darcy, have beetles in every room of their two-bedroom Northfield Road flat.

The family, who moved into the flat a year ago, said they told the Dalkeith-based housing association about their problem three weeks ago, and have been left frustrated by the response.

Emma said: “I have been on the phone to Melville and Environmental Health but nobody seems interested.

A dead beetle on the floor.

“It’s been an issue for a few months now. My neighbours have had beetles for quite a while. I never noticed them at first, until my neighbour said. Now I see them all the time.

“My kids can’t run about like normal, as there are beetles everywhere, it’s disgusting, and very stressful.

“It’s affecting my mental health. I had to get tablets from my doctor.

“Nobody seems to want to help. My mum spoke to Melville today demanding something is done.

Emma Cullen and her family have beetles in every room of their two bedroom Northfield Road flat in Mayfield.

“They just keep saying they need to follow the process.

“They did carry out treatment a week or two ago but it’s not worked. I keep finding beetles in every room. It seems to be getting worse.

“My house is clean, I tidy it every day. It’s not our fault.

“Another tenant here had to move out because of the problem, so I asked Melville why we are not getting moved. But they said that’s because their house was temporary.

“I have been told by the neighbours that the bugs have been here for 20 years and nothing has been done about it.”

Emma added that she had an issue with bed bugs in her last Melville property at Hawthorn Crescent.

A spokesperson for Melville Housing Association said: “We’re sorry to hear about the issue that Ms Cullen is having. We were made aware of it a little over a week ago, having never previously been notified of a similar situation at this address.

“Since then we’ve been working with the tenant to try to resolve it, and arranged for a pest control company to treat the property.

“We informed the tenant that the treatment would take up to 14 days to take effect. At the time Ms Cullen contacted the Advertiser we were only eight days into this 14 day period. We remain hopeful the treatment will be successful.

“Insects like beetles can appear in any home. The domestic beetle thrives on things like pet fur which can easily accumulate on skirting, carpets and laminate flooring, especially in dark corners.

“What’s most important is that they are denied access to easy sources of food like this.”