Sisters kill bugs every night before sleeping

SINGAPORE - A family suspects that the high blast of their neighbour's air-conditioning is causing mould to grow in the walls, causing insects to breed.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that a teenager, who is the younger of two sisters, had been experiencing itch every night before sleeping and she said that she has to "go to war" with the bugs.

Mr Zheng, 40, and his family of four have been staying at the 10th floor of Block 23 Balam Road for about seven years and they have renovated their flat once.

Things were good until a couple of years ago when they discovered mould growing on the walls of the girls' room. They also spotted "little worms".

Elder sister, Ms Zheng Meihong, 25, said the worms were smaller than ants. But after awhile, they grew bigger and turned from white to black. The insects also had long "beards" and she noticed that they move very fast.

Now, their wall has many little holes and they can see these worms crawling out of them. Even after killing them every day, new ones will still appear.

Ms Zheng also said that six months ago, there were some roof works done and constant hammering. The bug situation got worse and she is worried that there might be leakage from above.

Unable to stand the bugs any more, she complained to the Housing Development Board (HDB) who later sent an officer down to their flat for inspection.

Upon investigation, the officer said the neighbour's air-conditioning is too strong, leading to formation of mould. He suggested that the family adds a layer of anti-mould paint on their walls.

They followed his instructions and painted their walls, and they also opened the windows during the day for air circulation. However, after two to three months, the problem returned.

To reduce humidity in the room, the family also bought close to 10 boxes of desiccation to adsorb the moisture.

They have also spoken with their neighbours who co-operated by turning on their air-conditioning for fewer hours, but the mould problem still persists.

The neighbour told Wanbao that they only turn on the air-conditioning before they sleep and set it to 20 degrees Celsius.

Mr Huang Shijie, vice president of the Pest Control Association, said the bugs in the room should be booklice, which grow by eating mould.

He recommended opening the windows for ventilation, scrubbing the walls with soap. Without the mould, the booklice would not be attracted to the area.

wjeanne@sph.com.sg