Gerry Woolner is a proud collector, always has been.

But at 81, he’s picked up something no one wants — scads of bedbugs and a leg full of itchy, bloody bites.

Worse, the bugs and bites only multiplied in the nearly two weeks it took the local public housing authority to send a pest control service to check the London tenant’s apartment.

That’s despite repeated calls the former delivery person says he made for help.

“I think it’s just disgusting how they handled this,” said a friend and building neighbour, who first reported Woolner’s infestation March 8, after she was bitten in his apartment and saw bedbugs in his bathtub.

The landlord, the London Middlesex Housing Corp., is vowing to find out why its policy to immediately respond to complaints about bed bugs — they easily spread and are notoriously tough to exterminate — wasn’t followed.

Coun. Joe Swan, who sits on the corporation’s board, said it was “inadequate” making the senior wait so long.

Not until three days ago did the exterminator show up to inspect the apartment.

“I am disappointed,” said Swan, who’s been on the board since before it adopted a strict bed-bug policy in 2011.

Sunday, Woolner said he was told the service would return later this week but his place hadn’t been treated yet.

“The things are driving me up the bloody wall — there’s more every day,” Woolner said as a reporter toured his apartment. He pulled up his pant leg to reveal dozens of bites above his sock.

“You see them in there, running around like a bunch of scared rabbits — more and more every day,” he added, motioning toward the tub that was crawling with the tiny insects that feed on blood.

Swan, along with housing corporation board member Bob Sexsmith and chair Doug Reycraft, said property managers are required to respond to bed bug complaints immediately.

“My understanding is within 24 hours we’d have an investigation and an action plan for it,” Swan said.

That’s the expectation, housing executive director Steve Matthews said.

“My heart goes out to this man and anybody dealing with these things,” said Matthews. “I can look into the specific circumstance . . . these things are awful and we feel so bad for our tenants.”

The housing corporation, the region’s largest provider of rent-geared-to-income housing, with nearly 3,300 units, claims to have knocked down a once-spiralling bed bug problem that erupted in 2011/2012, as the critters made a nasty comeback in apartment buildings and hotels across North America.

Since then, the agency’s pest control budget has ballooned to about $325,000 from about $80,000, with most of it for eradicating bed bugs. It claims a success rate of more than 80%.

But the get-tough policy clearly wasn’t followed at Woolner’s high-rise at 304 Oxford. St.

“They’re no fun to have around here,” Woolner said, noting regular visitors quickly left after being bitten on his couch. Even his home care nurse refused to visit during the past two weeks, he said.

A friend in the building said she first phoned its emergency maintenance line March 8, asking someone to help.

“I told them, this man is 81, he’s had a stroke and his place is infested and I’ve been bit,” the woman said.

She said she called several days in a row after that, but still no one called Woolner.

Meanwhile, Woolner also was calling. “I called a week ago Sunday (March 9) night, then Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, then the next Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week,” he said, rhyming off the phone number. “One time they hung up on me.”

Finally, fed up for Woolner and worried about their own units, other tenants say they notified the public health unit and faxed their property manager.

“I think it’s just disgusting how they handled this,” said the friend who originally called.

jennifer.obrien@sunmedia.ca

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WHAT OTHERS SAID

“Nobody should have to live like that . . . I don’t know what’s happened here.”

— Bob Sexsmith, London Middlesex Housing Corp. board of directors

“I’ll definitely follow up to see what the situation is. “

— Doug Reycraft, chair of the housing corporation’s board.

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BED BUGS

Apple-seed-sized bugs usually bite at night, especially around the face, neck, upper torso, arms and hands.

Most bites, while itchy, go away without treatment.

Check behind headboard, in mattress seams, baseboard cracks and nightstands.

To prevent, clear bedroom clutter; seal cracks and crevices; be careful buying used furniture, electronics and clothes.

Source: bedbugsinfo.ca