Elderly residents in one Lexington apartment tower are dealing with a pesky problem -- bed bugs.
 
The bed bug problem has been going on for almost a year now, but it wasn't bad enough to warrant the housing authority and the health department to step in and take action.

That's until now.  
Over the past couple of weeks the complaints about bed bugs being in the Ballard Griffith Towers were so bad it caused the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority, the Health Department and the Lexington Mayor's office to get involved.

"The Health Department has been out here a few times since 2007. It really came to ahead last month when the Housing Authority requested we do a full inspection of the buildings and out of the 317 rooms we found bed bug evidence in 86 of the apartments," says Kevin Hall, communications officer for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.
    
Over the next several days all Rite Pest Control and Truly Nolen Pest Prevention will be treating all 317 apartments, hallways, offices, storage areas, laundry room and other areas in both buildings trying to get ride of the bed bug infestation.
    
The treatment began Monday morning on the tenth floor in the Connie Griffith Manor.

"The residents on one floor at a time are going to be taken into a common area or they can go where ever they want as long as they are out of their apartment for a four hour period. Which allows it to be inspected, treated and lets everything kind of settle down so that ll the treatment process can begin to take affect," says Hall.
    
Annette King has lived here for the past two years and says while he she doesn't have any problems with bed bugs right now, she is taking every precaution.

"I'm going to strip my bed and my neighbor’s bed and go to the laundry mat and wash everything like they want us to and when I can go back everything will be nice and clean," she tells WTVQ 36.

Hall says they're hoping to have both buildings sprayed and bug free by Thanksgiving.

Pest Control will do a second spraying in mid-December.