Millipedes overrun Dekalb County woman’s apartment
Lee Williams: “I think I want to leave, but I don’t have anywhere to go”
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Spring and summer are bug seasons in Georgia. For the most part, those bugs are expected to stay outside of people’s homes.
However, at least one unit at The Haverly at Stone Mountain apartments has an infestation that will make your skin crawl.
“One day, I was in here, and it was like a free for all,” said resident Lee Williams, who said she first noticed the problem in April.
But it’s not just one problem. It’s thousands of them. For the past few months, Williams and The Haverly have been dealing with a massive millipede problem.
“I’m stomping them. I’m cooking,” Williams explained. “I’m washing dishes. I’m stomping them.”
Pest control expert and owner of Mayday Pest Control Angel Garcia was stunned when we showed him the video.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Garcia said. “I’ve never seen that before.”
Garcia says millipedes are mostly harmless but seek out damp, mulchy areas. He added that something is likely leaking or very wrong for them to be all over the inside of Williams’ apartment.
“Anything that you can put caulk around, that’s going to stop them,” Garcia said. “They’re not very strong; they’re not going to be able to chew through that kind of stuff.”
Williams first tried using tape to keep the millipedes from getting inside, but that didn’t work.
And a Haverly-installed foam seal tore away from the door in weeks.
“This was in April, and here we are in June,” she said. “So, yes, I’m livid.”
Atlanta News First ed Haverly’s property manager, Cushman and Wakefield. Less than 90 minutes after our call, Cushman and Wakefield reached out to Williams with the offer for another exterminator, an apartment transfer, or the option to vacate.
“It really hurts me to say, but I think I want to leave,” Williams hesitated. ”But I don’t have anywhere to go. It took me a lot to get here.”
And now she’s in limbo, paying for an apartment she shares with unwanted guests while trying to find a solution where she’s not the one leaving.
“They’re not really doing a lot of dying,” Williams said. “They’re doing more living here.”
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