WEST HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Residents of a senior citizen apartment building in Luzerne County say they are being inundated with cockroaches and say their calls for help to property management are being ignored. They reached out to the I-team for help.

Nearly three dozen seniors live in the three-story building. They say they will withhold their rent unless the roaches are eliminated once and for all.

“We can’t live like this. We have roaches in the hall and we killed, I don’t know how many of them. I have them in a bag here,” said Alrena Krapf- resident at Getz Senior Apartments

I-Team Reporter Andy Mehalshick met with four residents. They all tell similar stories about how cockroaches are inundating their apartments.

They say the infestation began about five months ago and is getting worse. They even showed me plastic bags filled with dozens of insects as proof of what they are dealing with.

They say they can fill a bag with cockroaches every day.

“I don’t see how we should have to live like this. Matter of fact, we’re also holding our rent until something is done,” expressed Krapf.

“I’m 82 years old. I can’t stand to see an ant. when I found and saw a roach in my house, I made a phone call. After that more roaches came in. Yes, you may find dust in my house, but I can’t stand to live like this, nor should I have to,” explained Patricia Patrick, a resident at Getz Apartments.

“If they’re over the next apartment they are going to be in mine,” said Getz Senior Apartments Resident Mary Shockley.

As Eyewitness News was interviewing these residents, the property manager walked into the apartment.

“We can’t live like this. Yes, we do pay our rent. Nobody has been behind on their rent. We are not paying our rent for the first. We are not into something is done with this building,” Krapf explained.

The property manager tells the I-Team they have been spraying every two weeks but now says that the operation will be re-evaluated.

“What can you say to these folks and their family members they can’t stay like this?” Mehalshick asks.

“Well, the housing authority is doing what they can do. Evidently, the spraying or preventative maintenance program is not being able to address the situation completely. So, we’re going to look into it a little more detail as to what to spray,” explained Richard Zgagowski, Manager of Getz Senior Apartments.

This property is run by the Luzerne County Housing Authority.

Eyewitness News reached out to management for comment and as of the time did not receive a response.