One and two-bedroom apartments for rent. Fridge/stove included - not necessarily in proper working order. Sporadic heat/hot water included. Close to schools and shopping. Safe community - we have a permanent paddy wagon patrol! Starting at $550. We offer several "little extras" including:
*Pharaoh ants
*Silverfish
*Bedbugs
*Rats & mice
*Broken window glass - provides a lovely breeze in summer!
*Sporadic heating & hot water - you have to get up early if you want that hot shower!
*Mold- don't worry, it's inside the walls - no visible unsightly stains!
*Open door policy -many unit entry doors are missing locks.
*Overflowing dumpster bins - perfect for bird watching! Seagulls and crows in abundance.
*Absent smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire extinguishers - no annoying & time-consuming battery changes!
*Non-working electrical outlets - usually one per unit is working - hey, we do what we can for the environment!
Would you live here? What if you had no choice? The above classified ad is fictional but the rental units are real and are located on Churchill/Roleika Drive in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. Most of the people living in this cluster of buildings believe they have no other choice. They of course are not told about the "little extras" when viewing the units but soon discover every one of them as they settle in. The more obvious "extras" are explained away - 'we're having trouble with our trash collector but that is being resolved as we speak' or 'there will be locks on the door and window replacement as soon as we can'.
For the less fortunate in our society the fact that there's a roof over their heads can be the main attraction and they place their trust in the owners to actually follow through on the promises. They sign the lease and move in. It's July so they do enjoy a nice breeze through those broken windows
but they also acquire an ample supply of flies, mosquitoes and hornets. The odd cat if one lives on the ground floor.
They have spotted a couple of silverfish in the bathroom but they convince themselves that most bathrooms have at least a few of them. Later on the tenant will be awakened one night with an itchy arm and discover an extra large silverfish is the cause.
As the season changes to the cooler months they begin to spot the odd ant but these ants are like nothing they have ever seen. They seem to be almost transparent. And they're very aggressive. The tenant has been biten a couple of times by these creatures.
As far as the promised locks on the entrance door are concerned, well they're still waiting for that. In the meantime they do their best to secure the apartment by wedging a chair under the inside doorknob and inserting several kitchen knives between the door and the framing.
One night a tenant was expecting a visit from her boyfriend so she didn't secure the door. She decided to indulge in a hot bath while she waited. Granted, her decision wasn't a wise one considering where she was living but we've all made stupid decisions in our lives. She heard the door open and someone moving about in the apartment. She called out her boyfriend's name but there was no answer. The bathroom door began to inch open and standing there gaping at her was a local well known drug addict male who lives in the neighbourhood. Fortunately he left quickly when the tenant started screaming.
Having locks on apartment doors comes in handy in situations like that. Locks tend to keep the riffraff out.
November starts with a vengeance and the days and nights have become downright frigid. The broken windows that provided a nice breeze in July are now allowing cold air into the apartment and of course, warm air out. But the tenant has more important things to worry about. Those odd
transparent ants that were no more than a nuisance in summer are now taking refuge inside the building because they cannot tolerate the cold.
After some research and discussions with fellow tenants it is discovered that the building is overrun with Pharaoh ants. They can be seen entering apartments in long lines. Once inside they like living behind walls with a preference for electrical outlets. Their numbers become so numerous that they are eventually everywhere - kitchen cupboards and perishable food, bathtubs, beds...everywhere that is either warm or moist or both.
The landlord has been notified several times of the ant situation which has apparently been a problem for quite some time and well before this tenant took residence. The landlord has never addressed the problem. One reason? It would cost too much to have the buildings exterminated.
So the landlord keeps his distance because it just wouldn't do to carry a couple of these little buggers to his home in the wealthier suburbs. He knows all about these particular ants because they hail from the same part of the world he does - Egypt. He also knows that these ants are
particularly difficult to completely eradicate. The insecticides available in this part of the world have no effect on Pharoah ants.
But he does nothing.
It's January of a new year now. The Pharaoh ants have taken over in the tenant's apartment. Taking a bath or shower is now impossible as one must compete with the ants for space and actually share the bath or shower with them if one is brave enough. Perishable food cannot be brought into the unit at all. If something perishable is brought in, the item must be stored in the refrigerator. The tenant is running out of free space in the fridge as all foods are stored in there.
The tenant can no longer relax and watch TV or listen to music or even sleep without being assaulted by ants. That bite. This tenant has lost the battle and will soon be moving on. This tenant is one of the few lucky ones - others in the building don't have that option and are at the constant mercy of a card-carrying slumlord.
But now that the decision has been made to leave, our tenant faces a new dilemma - Pharaoh ants love to hide in the most unlikely of places..how does one move their belongings without bringing along some of the ants? These ants are adept at starting brand new colonies from almost
nothing. Our tenant fears that they will be forced to leave all possessions behind and escape literally with the clothes on their back.
Our tenant is still one of the lucky ones. Escape from this cesspool is imminent. The same cannot be said for the unlucky ones who have no other choice but to live there and suffer at the hands of a cold-hearted slumlord.
How have we as a society allowed this to happen?
Find out about Pharaoh ants here: PHARAOH ANTS
