Karolina Vizina lives in a Glenelm Crescent building in Waterloo, Ont. with her husband and two kids but has been on edge lately after she says she’s seeing cockroaches all over the building.
She said cockroaches are crawling in the hallways and common areas and also slip through the cracks and come into her unit on the third floor.
“It’s really unnerving. It’s disgusting. It’s dirty,” Vizina said.
She shared video and photos she took recently that she said shows the bugs crawling around the building.
“It makes me really sad that my kids have to deal with this as well,” she said, near tears.
Vizina said her young kids are starting to notice the insects and called it out the other day when they were eating lunch in their unit.
“They told me that there was a cockroach and then they watched me chase it around and then we all lost our appetite,” said Vizina.
More cockroach complaints
Vizina is coming forward with her story a few days after CTV Kitchener first did a story about a man who lives in the same building.
Zahir Stanikzai lives in a unit on the first floor with his 8 family members. He said cockroaches have completely taken over his living space.
“There is a lot. Thousands, hundreds of cockroaches,” he explained on Monday. “At nighttime, [they] come out from the holes and crawl in our food and our faces.”
Vizina is hoping her story will spark change.
“Management, they’ve just been sweeping [the problem] under the rug, ignoring us, all of our emails. And now that you’ve brought this to light, now they’re scrambling,” she said.
Several people came forward to CTV News. Some did not want to appear on camera but said they’ve dealt with similar problems for years.
Before Stanikzai moved into his first-floor unit, Linda Littlejohns said she lived there for more than ten years. She said she was a superintendent and saw her fair share of cockroaches too.
“Little babies coming out of the bottom of my coffee pot. That’s where I first saw it,” she said.
She said the problem started around 2021 in a unit on the third floor before spreading.
“There was a problem in 202. There was a problem in 203. A problem in 303. A problem in 103. Beside me and 116, and for some reason, 313 had a terrible problem too,” Littlejohns said.
Littlejohns said she moved out in 2023 for unrelated reasons. She said when she left the cockroach problem was getting better.
Greenwin responds
Greenwin Corp. manages the building.
On Monday, the company said they are actively addressing a pest control issue.
When asked about multiple units claiming similar cockroach issues, the company said in a statement, in part:
“Our senior management has been on-site and is actively engaging with residents to ensure every household feels supported. We are committed to working in partnership with residents and pest management experts to implement a thorough, coordinated treatment plan.
Greenwin did not go into detail about what the treatment plan would look like. The company did not respond when asked if residents would be compensated in any way or removed from the property during treatment.
“While every unit presents unique conditions, we are approaching this situation with care, urgency, and the full resources necessary to achieve a resolution. Our efforts will continue until the matter is resolved to the highest standard” the company said.
Residents said they hope more is done to stop the cockroaches.
“I think they should have treated the entire building. And not just one apartment here and one apartment there,” Vizina said.
Vizina said she’s at the end of her rope.
“I don’t like having to pay to live here. But we are caught between a rock and a hard place. And this is the only place we can be right now,” she said.
