The biting started almost right away.

Within days of moving into a new larger apartment on Fredericton's north side, a Syrian family started to get bites on their arms and other parts of their body — but they had no idea what was biting them.

Lama and Mohammed Al-Khatebb's two children were itching and scratching and no one knew why.

"Since we lived here, my son had bites," said Lama Al-Khatebb as she pointed to her arm. "The teacher asked us, 'What [are these] bites?'"

The parents thought it might be mosquito or spider bites because they saw a number of spiders when they first moved into the apartment.

Lama and Mohammed Al-Khatebb said the larger apartment meant their two children each had their own bedrooms. (Joe McDonald/CBC)

"We didn't know about bedbugs."

Following advice from a friend, Mohammed Al-Khatebb put sticky tape under the bed and the next day, he found a bedbug on it.

Soon, they say, all their furniture was infested with the tiny insects.

But they couldn't get any help from their landlord or NB Housing to solve the problem.

No contact

Mohammed Al-Khatebb said he repeatedly tried to contact landlord Rick Kelly by phone and email, but received no response.

"I'm still waiting for him," he said. "I sent him so many messages."

According to the couple, the building superintendent told them they needed to deal with the infestation themselves.

The family hired a company to spray, but it cost Mohammed Al-Khatebb $800, a cost that's especially steep because he's studying to be an IT systems administrator at Eastern College.

Desperate to move

Now, after months of frustration and spending money they couldn't afford on an exterminator, replacing the new furniture and carpets, the couple is desperate to move out.

The family is sleeping on the living room floor on an air mattress. They refuse to sleep in the bedrooms, worried the bedbugs will return on their clothes.

"We want to study. It's our first step in Canada to study and build our life again. We [threw] everything out when we [left] Syria for Jordan and when we [left] Jordan for Canada we threw everything out," he said.

"Now it's third time for us to throw everything out."

Breaking the lease

The couple said they were told by NB Housing, that if they want to break the lease, they had to go to the province's Office of the Rentalsman.

But they encountered a roadblock when the address they had for the landlord was incorrect.

Mohammed Al-Khatebb shows a picture of his childrens' new bed frames that had to be thrown out after they were infested with bedbugs. (Joe McDonald/CBC)

Mohammed Al-Khatebb said he has been looking for a new place to live but was told by NB Housing, the organization had to find it for them.

In a statement to CBC News, the Department of Social Development said it has rent-supplement agreements with private landlords throughout the province.

"The relationship between the parties in a rent-supplement agreement is like any other tenant-landlord relationship with the owner of the building working to address concerns a tenant may have," said Anne Mooers, spokesperson with the Department of Social Development.

CBC asked the couple's landlord, Rick Kelly for an interview by telephone, but he declined to answer any questions.