Email to Krenger - May 10, 2009

Marty Krenger,

I spoke on the phone with you last week, and you recommended that I put in writing the exact nature of the problem I’ve been having. I have lived at 5528 N Kenmore Ave in unit 106 for almost three years, and I’ve had the problem of big cockroaches coming into my apartment since that time. Spring is generally the worst time, but summer, fall, and to a lesser degree winter has also been a problem. If I were to estimate how many roaches I have killed or have seen dead in my apartment in the last twelve months, I would say between twenty and twenty-five.

That number may not seem like a major problem to you, but let me remind you that the body of the bugs I have seen are between two and three inches long. They do not stay on the ground either. In the past year: I have woken up in the middle of the night to find a roach on me on two different occasions (once on my arm, and once on my leg), and even after moving my bed, I have found one crawling in my sheets in the middle of the afternoon.

I have called the Krenger office many times to talk with staff there about this problem. At least once a year, your office sends maintenance to try to fill any openings where these roaches are getting into my apartment. They have also come often to spray. I have talked with technicians several times as well and have requested that they treat my apartment and even watched them do it a couple times. I know that your office has responded to my requests that this issue be solved, but I have come to the point of not seeing the actions done as sufficient. The bugs are still regularly getting in. The bugs die very soon after they get into the apartment, but they don’t keep them out of my apartment.

In addition, I hear them sometimes in vent. I don’t know if there is one or more roaches in the airway itself, or if it is just their feet on top of the metal passage, but I hear what I assume to be their feet clicking against the metal. Just to be clear, the vents that I’m talking about are those above the door to the apartment and above the closets, right next to the door.

Usually I see the roaches come into the apartment. My couch is facing the front door and the closet behind the stove that has the heating unit in it. When I’m working or watching something on my computer, I am sitting on my couch, so when a roach comes out of that closet, I usually see it or hear it right away. This is where the roaches seem to be coming from most of the time. At other times in the past three years, I’ve seen them in other places. When I first moved here, they seemed to be coming from the bathroom. I have since had maintenance come out and make sure any openings are filled in behind the tub, and I keep the tub plugged at all times. At other times, I had the problem of them coming in from the space between the wall and floor below the AC unit. I always request that that wall be sprayed, but I don’t know if I’ll have trouble there again this summer.

The majority of the problem is, however, the closet behind the stove. Even after maintenance came this last time to fill in any openings, a few days later I saw a roach come out of that closet. And the week after, I heard at least one roach in the vents.

From what I have observed and asked about, the monthly treatments that the technicians from Smithereen do is a gel treatment on the hinges of cupboards. I don’t think this treatment is meant to stop the big roaches from coming in, but just to keep new colonies from forming. They also put powder down or spray when asked to, which disorients the big roaches that come in and kills them shortly after they come into contact with it. I don’t think this is enough. In the time it takes for them to die, they have time to get into my bed (which last occurred a couple weeks ago).

I think there should be a more consistent attempt to keep them out of the building in the first place. When I talked to you on the phone on Tuesday (it may have been Monday), you said that you visited the building and did not see a significant problem. You also suggested that perhaps pests such as these were just a fact of life in city apartments. I would really like to see the report that Smithereen made and that you offered to fax to me. I’ll include my work fax number at the end of this message. I was at the el stop when I was on the phone with you, so I may not have heard everything you said about the subject of pests and city life, so I’d also appreciate some clarification on what kind and frequency of pest problem I should expect from my time as a Krenger tenant.

I would also like to take the time to recognize that your company has responded to my complaints. Jamil and any other maintenance workers have come to my apartment on numerous occasions to help with this situation, and Ruth has also been fairly helpful in relaying information to me. I hope you understand that I am appreciative of the efforts already made but am also very frustrated with how short-term those efforts have been. I am very anxious to find a more permanent solution and intend to take whatever measures available to ensure that a more permanent solution is found.

I look forward to receiving an email response to this email as well as receiving a copy of the Smithereen report. I plan on sharing that report with others in the building who are also interested.

Erica
5528 N Kenmore Ave. Apt. 106
Phone: 773.---.----
Fax: 773.---.----