Makongeni residents in Matuga live in fear of contracting skin diseases as bedbugs continue to invade their homes.
This comes barely a month after Maledi locals decried increased presence of rats that caused great damage to food crops in Lunga-Lunga constituency.
Led by Amina Bakari, the Makongeni residents said the invasion is worrying. They have unsuccessfully tried to get rid of the "uninvited guests".
“We have tried everything but the bedbugs won’t leave us in peace,” Bakari said.
They blamed their tribulations to abject poverty in the region, saying it has hampered their efforts to tackle the problem.
The traditional pesticides are inferior and cannot kill bedbugs, Bakari said. Unfortunately, what they earn is too little to enable them to acquire effective insecticides, she added.
They now want the county government and good Samaritans to assist in finding a remedy to permanently eliminate the menace.
“If there is someone with a good solution kindly intervene so we can at least relax and live peacefully,” she said.
They also fear that their children might develop health complications. She said at night children cannot sleep and that is not good for their growth.
Many times bedbugs have been associated with lack of proper hygiene but the locals have strongly denied that saying they frequently conduct general cleaning.
“I don’t think it is about dirtiness because I wash clothes, including blankets, every day and the parasites are still multiplying,” Saumu Chiro said.
She thinks dark forces are behind the bedbug invasion to make them suffer.
Chiro also blames the Covid-19 crisis for their inability to deal with the bedbug problem effectively, adding that she lost her job because of the restrictions put in place to contain the virus.