ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Tenants living in a St. Augustine apartment building for people ages 55 and older say they've been dealing with a rat infestation since Hurricane Matthew swept up Florida's east coast in October.
Lori Wilson and Marryann Garra, who both live in second-floor apartments of a building at Summer Breeze apartments, told News4Jax on Monday that when they complained about the rodents, the apartment manager did very little to get rid of the pests.
The women said they've been on edge because no one knows if the rodents could be carrying a disease.
"Absolutely, we're afraid of being bitten," Garra said.
The tenants said they first started spotting the rats inside their apartments after Hurricane Matthew
"I had a rat in my apartment. The cats ran away from it and went under the chair," Wilson said.
She also revealed that one of her neighbors had an unforgettable encounter with a rat.
"One woman actually had one jump on her chest," she said.
But they're not just seeing rats. Tenants said they can heard the rats crawling in the walls of the structure at night.
"We're hearing noises in the walls," Wilson said.
Wilson said she used to leave potatoes out in the kitchen until she found teeth marks in one of them.
"Now I put my apples and potatoes and everything in the refrigerator. Everything goes in the refrigerator," Wilson said.
Garra said she too can no longer keep food out.
"I have nothing in my cupboard except canned food and jars," she said.
Wilson and Garra have said they now want to stand up for their neighbors who are afraid to complain to management about the rat infestation in their building.
"What they're telling me is that they're all afraid to make waves because a lot of them have nowhere to go and they're afraid of being evicted," Garra said.
When she first noticed the rats, Wilson said she reported it to the apartment manager, who told her they were taking bids from exterminators.
“I went back periodically and asked what the status was on that and kept being told they were taking bids and that it would take time," Wilson said. "It was upsetting.”
News4Jax wanted to hear from management about why they couldn't just hire an expert to get rid of the rodents, but the front doors of the leasing office were locked at 5 p.m. Monday -- even though the sign on the door says the office is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. News4Jax could see someone inside the office, but the woman did not open the door, and walked right past the glass door and into another room without stopping.
During the course of the investigation, News4Jax learned St. Johns County Code Enforcement first received complaints about the rat problem in October. Code Enforcement received more complaints in February.
As of last month, Code Enforcement noted in its report that Massey Pest Control is doing treatment on the buildings, but it's uncertain if all of the rats have been eradicated.