By Sylvia Gonzalez
NewsWest 9
ODESSA - The Rojas Family had about every unwanted visitor in their apartment for the past three years they lived at Buena Vista Gardens Apartments in Odessa. Ernesto Rojas claims his apartment was infested with more than just bed bugs.
"Rats, mice, roaches. all the accumulated trash even lizards, all kinds of insects were there," Rojas said.
The Rojas Family moved to the Basin three years ago due to the housing shortage they couldn't find a house so they settled for an apartment. Rojas says the infestation was so bad in his apartment his two year old son felt the effects of it.
"He is still little so he can't speak right but we noticed that he would tug at is ear and he would cry. That's when I told my wife 'lets take him to the hospital' when they examined him, it was a piece of cockroach in his ear," Rojas said.
Rojas believes some apartment communities are taking advantage of tenants due to the housing shortage. He feels they should be regulated and not feed off people who make minimum wage.
"I feel sorry for families that are in that situation, that's why apartment complexes take advantage. There's no authority to regulate the cost of apartments," Rojas said.
Rojas says he bought traps for the roaches and cans of Raid to get rid of them but nothing solved the problem.
He says the only way the apartment complex will get rid off all the unwanted visitors is by exterminating the place.
"For it to be exterminated as needed, that's how the problem will be controlled, exterminate the entire building. There are insects between the walls, no matter how clean your apartment is," Rojas said.
NewsWest 9 contacted Buena Vista Gardens Apartments and they did not want to make a statement on camera but they did say they exterminate the apartments once a month.
