Skip to content

Another case of bed bugs nesting in Yellowknife

0409bug12
Ekpakohak brought a fresh and still squirming bed bug to the Yellowknifer as proof that the problem is ongoing. Brett McGarry / NNSL Photo
The Hilltop Apartment complex at 5009 47 Street is operated by the Yellowknife Housing authority. Ekpakohak says he has been staying here for two months and the problem has not subsided.
Brett McGarry/NNSL photo

A concerned resident in Hilltop Apartments complex on 47 Street has come forward to Yellowknifer with proof of another bed bug infestation.

Robert Ekpakohak says the apartment he has been staying it since December, in a complex run by the Yellowknife Housing Authority, has been infected with bed bugs that have left him with bites and sores all over his body.

"I wake up and go to sleep every night and itching all over," Ekpakohak said. "It's starting to drive me crazy."

Robert Ekpakohak brought a fresh and still squirming bed bug to Yellowknifer as proof that the problem is ongoing.
Brett McGarry/NNSL photo

Ekpakohak says he is homeless and has been staying on the couch of the unit's main renter James Gardlund, a cancer patient who has been renting the room for some time.

"We've had this problem for a long time," said Gardlund.

When asked if anyone had spoken with him about the problem, he simply replied "no."

Ekpakohak says he is unaware of the extent of the problems in the apartment complex, but he has seen them coming through the base boards and is convinced more than one unit is involved.

He also says he has spoken with neighbours, who say there have been multiple fumigation attempts in the past.

Yellowknifer has reached out the Yellowknife Housing Authority multiple times but was still waiting for a response at press time.