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9:33 a.m. • 2-11-12

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Benson woman's home overrun by rodents


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Patricia Butler
Patricia Butler

A Benson woman says a mouse problem at her home has become so bad, she's seeing the rodents at all times of the day and throughout her apartment – even in her 2-year-old daughter's bed.

Patricia Butler lives at Raymond Sanders Apartment Complex on Whittington Drive and says she has complained to the Benson Housing Authority several times about the problem.

The housing authority has given Butler mouse traps, she says, but they haven't been enough to solve the problem.

"I'll be cooking, and they'll run from behind the toaster," Butler said.

She says she has also seen the creatures dart across her stove and scurry down her curtains. She's found feces and urine in her shoes, her dresser and children's beds.

“If I lift up a shoe, I’ll probably have to dump it out,” she said.

Doctors also think bumps on Butler's 2-year-old daughter could be mouse bites.

"She was crying upstairs, and I go upstairs, and there was three mice hopping on the bed with her," Butler's grandmother, Victoria Butler, said.

Victoria Butler, 57, says she found a dead mouse under her granddaughter's sofa recently after noticing a stench.

Debbie Edge, director of the Benson Housing Authority, declined to be interviewed Wednesday, but she told The Daily Record, of Dunn earlier this week that she did not know the complex had an infestation.

She said she had given Butler glue strips to trap the mice.

In a meeting with housing authority board members Tuesday night, Edge said exterminators with Clegg's Termite and Pest Control have been told to do whatever it takes to solve the problem, according to the newspaper.

Board member Kenneth Dupree said the complex has had a mice problem for about a year, but said he thinks residents were afraid to speak up.

"They thought they didn’t have a voice or an opinion to form, because if they did, they would definitely be evicted," Dupree said. "But I had to let them know, ‘Hey wait a minute. We’re here to assist the residents,"

He added that numerous residents have reported mice.

"We're trying to clear all of that up, because these children are our future," he said. "We are concerned about the residents and our children."

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This is so sad for anyone. I hope that whomever owns this building can spend some monies and get this taken of for the health and well-being of the people. I feel sorry for all, especially the children. How do they even sleep at night?

This is one that I hope that I don't read about again.

Some of these postings are as ridiculous as the people posting them. This woman has a problem with rodents--in her dwelling which she is renting, which is run by the Benson Housing Authority, which falls under the US Dept of Housing and Urban Development(HUD). Section8 has nothing to do with this. There are laws for both tenants and the office of the housing authority. We have no idea about the cleanliness of the woman but we certainly know that those rats exist! Why did some of you question her cleanliness, or her motivation for reporting the problem? Could it be because you've seen a photo of her? How ignorant. One thing is sure; the rodents are so bad that they have overrun her dwelling to the point of bedding with her toddler. And that, that alone, is not in compliance with the laws of HUD. They should be arrested for running such a shoddy operation of housing for the poor. Strip tapes??

Next time, do your homework and you won't look so stupid!

That's all....

This is an apartment, right? What is the condition of the adjoining apartments? Are the other residents having similar problems, or is the problem pretty much confined to the one in question? If the neighbors are being over run, then it's a community problem..... if not......

Just wondering.

I understand people can't just relocate themselves when the conditions at their current residence get this bad, but if you have a 2 year old, at least get the child somewhere safe, like a relatives house. Remove the child from the situation before you call Troubleshooters or something wanting to sue the complex b/c your child died from whatever disease rats carry!

Forgive the typos- Thanks

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