Roach infestation impacts Halloween in Wyandotte
WYANDOTTE (CBS DETROIT) – There was a change of plans for some trick-or-treaters in Wyandotte; the city shut down part of a neighborhood to prevent cockroaches from hitching a ride on kids' costumes. This is because officials are taking steps to eliminate the creepy crawlers.
Dead cockroaches are a sign of progress for those living on 20th street near Pine street.
"The eggs are very easy to pick up on your shoes, on your pants, on your clothes, and they can spread like wildfire," Tom Vargo, a neighbor, said.
Back in August, a garageman noticed many of them while hauling away some furniture in front of the home.
Eventually, police showed up to check out the conditions inside and found an infestation.
"They were dumbfounded at what they saw–they have never seen anything quite so bad," Vargo said. "The roaches were all over the floors, in broad daylight, on the furniture, on the kitchen table."
The city says they gave the homeowner time to clean the house, but not much has improved.
"They're just breeding their little hearts out, you know, two and a half months, and they'd like to come and visit, and you know it's we don't want them–those visitors, but they do come out during the day," Pat Webster, another neighbor, said during a recent city council meeting.
The situation spooked a few city leaders, who worried the roaches may crawl up or hitch a ride on unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.
"We shouldn't have anybody walking down the street. We've got a block, to a two-block problem now, and then if we don't close it down, we could have a 20-block problem," Todd Hanna, a Wyandotte councilmember, said during the same meeting.
This Halloween, the city shut down 20th street from Eureka to Grove between 4 to 8 p.m.
Besides hiring an exterminator to spray neighboring homes, the city plans to use its emergency powers to go in and take care of the intrusion as early as Tuesday.
"It's a shame to, you know to let something get this bad to where they have to close our street off, spray, it's just unbelievable," Greg Graff, who lives in the neighborhood, said.
In the meantime, the city plans to continue its pest control efforts twice a week on the block.