Nakuru residents endure sleepless night following bedbug invasion
More than 5, 000 households in Nakuru are enduring sleepless nights following a massive bedbug infestation.
The affected estates are Flamingo, Lake View, Rhonda, Kaptembwa, Mwariki, Bondeni and Kivumbini.
Sadly, the affected families might have to endure more sleepless nights as the county health department has run out of a special insecticide it has been using to control the bugs.
Tormented by the irritating bugs, the families are crying out to the government to move with speed and ‘restore their dignity’.
“Mostly they come out in large numbers at night especially when we retire to bed. Sometimes they make you lose sleep completely,” said Ms Faith Wangari an affected resident.
PEST CONTROL
Another resident, Ms Alice Nyambura, said they have been using hot water as a remedy which repels the pests for a few hours.
Lake View Estate residents, however, had a sigh of relief when a well-wisher, Mr Peter Kimani, offered to spray their houses to eliminate the pests.
“Most of the children from the area suffer from rashes while some have a white covering on their skins as a result of the bites,” said Mr Kimani, who is also an area resident,.
Nakuru county Health Officer, Mr Samuel King’ori, said his department carried out an exercise to clean up the estates last year but some residents were not available during the exercise.
“Some of the residents did not allow us to access their houses as some were absent when we conducted the exercise. When we were done, the pests returned to their houses,” said Mr King’ori.
INSECTICIDE
Mr King’ori said during the exercise carried out last year, at least 6,000 households benefited but were unable to reach the 100 per cent target.
“During the exercise we only managed 60 per cent of the households affected by the bedbugs,” said Mr King’ori.
Mr King’ori admitted that they have ran out of the special insecticide they have been using to control the bugs.
“We are in the process of starting a programme whereby the residents will be trained on how to control bedbugs,” he said.
During the 2016 exercise, which was carried out over seven months, the public health department spent Sh 20 million. The estates covered included Githima, Kaptembwa, Rhonda, Mwariki and lower Shabaab.
