ention to our diet but the problems continued. Then one day, I checked my bed and found more then 20 bed bugs on the mattress. I did research and realized that bed bugs were striking Chicagoland. I caught all bugs and applied 75% ethanol on the mattress and around the bedroom. The mattress was further treated by thoroughly to 120 F with my hair dryer. Then we had 4 days peace before bugs returning. Then I told this to my landlord. he said there were more incidents reported in this building. He asked us trashing our bed and gave me a bottle spray. I checked the drug online and figured out that this drug may last for 8 weeks. Our baby is so little, I do not want him to be exposed in the drug for such a long time. So I did not use it. Now, everyday, I must carefully check the entire bed and mattress before going to bed. I do not know how long this will last and how I can do tomorrow.

time and date when I should expect one to arrive. During this time the owners yelled at me for being demanding and degraded my property as second hand - which it wasn’t. Clearly, the landlords/owners are more concerned about the cost of hiring an exterminator than the health of the tenants and their property.

The landlords are a bigger problem than the bedbugs as they are taking full advantage of the fact that this building’s residents are predominantly immigrant and that the average tenant, who does not speak English and is unaware of their rights, can't report these problems or escalate the complaint. Note, I am not blaming the landlords for the bedbugs, as there is an outbreak of the critters in Chicago; I am faulting them for their general disregard for public safety, their indifference to the folks who pay them rent, and their overall negligence.

I called my Alderman’s office and they will be calling the city officials on my behalf for a full inspection of the building.