Confinement is not easy for anyone. But for some, it could quickly turn into a nightmare. Mathilde, a mother from the city of Tarterêts, in Corbeil-Essonnes, takes this for the moment with philosophy. "But this is only the beginning ..." she notes. She (on) lives with her husband, their four children aged 1 to 12, two dogs and a cat, in an apartment of… 50 m2.
For many months, unwanted guests have slipped between the interstices of the doors, along the baseboards and under the pillows: the bedbugs. We had already met this family in October 2019. They uttered a cry of anger against their lessor, 1001 Habitat, with whom they are still in conflict with a view to obtaining a disinsection.
Four months later, the situation improved slightly: the boxes piled up in the children's room were able to be cleared in a room, and the beds better distributed in each room.
No pest control during containment
She still has to deal with the bed bug problem, even though it has gone down in recent weeks. "I treat them with essential oils, which I spray very regularly," explains Mathilde. But the building is infested with it. In October, the lessor 1001 Vies Habitat (ex-Logement Francilien) had proposed "a disinfestation intervention". Contacted, he could not respond to our requests.
The lessor carried out a canine bed bug detection operation at the start of the year. A large number of tenants would be affected. Agents from 1001 Habitat also came to offer “dry steam” pest control.
Insufficient for Mathilde, who claims thermal disinsection. "It costs 2,000 euros, but at least we are sure of the effects," she says. But with confinement, this is not about to happen ... ”
"We're going to try not to kill each other, huh!"
Mathilde moved into this tower on avenue Léon-Blum at the age of 19. She now has 41. As she has four children, she is officially in a state of “overcrowding” in her apartment. But his requests for a change of accommodation were unsuccessful.
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Confinement is all the more difficult to manage because of the size of his family unit. Children no longer go to school. Mathilde's husband, who works in the food industry, cannot telecommute. He continues to maintain his schedules. "For now, it's like a vacation for children, except that they can't go out," worries Mathilde.
"The two older children and the smaller one sleep in the same room and the 2 year old sleeps in our bed," explains the mother. During the day, when the little ones want to play, the big ones raise their mattresses. »Walking the two staff dogs, a valid reason for going out during this period of confinement, is also a good excuse to get the kids out into the fresh air. "We're going to try not to kill each other, huh!" She laughs.
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