‘Crawling on my toothbrush’: Ant infestation creates havoc for family in west Edmonton apartment

They’re described as luxury apartments on the outside, but one west Edmonton tenant says the inside is anything but.

Calli Graham-Newman says she’s living a nightmare, as her home at the Edgemont Estates has been overrun by an army of ants since September.

Graham-Newman says it’s taking a toll on her and her family’s wellbeing.

“They’re coming through our sockets, our power sockets,” said Graham-Newman, who’s lived at the apartment for five years. “They’re crawling above me while I’m trying to relax in my bath. They’re above my head, they’re beside me. Sometimes they’ll fall in the water. It’s disgusting.

“The last straw was when it was in our dog’s food, our dog’s treats, our dog’s water bowl. And one of the mornings, I saw them crawling on my toothbrush. I’m just really tired. Me and my husband, and my dog Kylo, we are kind of done.

“It has been such a stressful time in our lives.”

Graham-Newman says she was forced to leave the apartment and stay with family after her Kylo got sick.

“As soon as we left the building, he was fine,” she said.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) tells CityNews two units in the building complained about an ant infestation to Environmental Public Health (EPH) last month.

“A pest control company has been contracted by property management to treat for ants, and EPH will continue to monitor,” AHS said in a statement.

“Further follow-up is scheduled this week with property management.”

CityNews spoke to another tenant who said she endured the same situation for an entire year. That tenant eventually left, despite continuing to pay rent.

“It just progressively got worse to the point that they started coming out of the pantry, like random cracks in the pantry. They started coming through the ventilation system,” she recounted.

“They were crawling on my windowsill, on my bed. It was just gross.”

CityNews reached out multiple times to the property management company for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.

Graham-Newman says her family sprayed the apartment three times, but the pests keep coming back. Now she’s hoping she can break the lease without facing a financial penalty.