AN East End mum has slammed a city housing association after a three-year long battle with a beetle larvae infestation in her home which is affecting her children's health.

Kathleen Wilson, who lives in a Glasgow Housing Association flat along with her five children, claims she has to be on constant watch to avoid contact with the hundreds of critters which have been living in the property for years.

The 27-year-old mother, who lives in the area's Langness Road, has lived in the building since 2016, with two visits from pest control, including one last week, making little difference.

Ms Wilson says she regularly finds the bugs around her home, with the latest incident seeing the creepy crawlies finding their way into her 22-week-old daughter Bella Rose's milk bottle.

Glasgow Times:

The larvae have also been found in her family's clothes, in their pillows, and even nesting in the cavities of her son's Lego sets.

Videos shared with with Evening Times even show the adult beetles climbing the walls of the family's living room.

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Now, after years of misery whilst waiting for another flat, she has had enough.

Kathleen said: "They are so bad - we've had them in the baby milk and in my cereal.

Glasgow Times:

"We have had the problem since we moved in. At first it was just the odd bundle of them. But then it got worse. Now my kids are in and out of the doctors.

"They have just offered pest control - one time they never even showed up. Now they have been here twice, but it has not solved the problems.

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"You can even pull back the carpets and you can see them - they're running all over the floor under there.

"I can't sleep any more. They are in my pillows and in my sheets - you wake up and they are on your face."

Glasgow Times:

The problem has become so bad that the family's health visitor has now written to Glasgow Housing Association.

In the complaint, the health worker called the situation 'unacceptable' warning of the dangers to the five children's wellbeing, before urging the housing association to address the infestation.

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The letter continues: "I have worked with this family for years and one of my ongoing concerns is the beetle infestation within the home.

"This is simply unacceptable. There are three children under the age of five years within the home who are crawling and playing on the floor.

"The health implications of this are many, including potential respiratory and eye infections. I would urge whoever is responsible to attend to this as a matter of urgency."

The issues caused by the larvae beetles are not only the children's health.

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Kathleen is now forced to buy food on a daily basis, for fear that the creatures will find their way through packaging.

Clothing has also become a problem, with the mum-of-five saying she has lost track of the amount of items which have been ruined with holes as the critters chomp their way through the fibres.

Glasgow Times:

The stress of sharing their home with hoards of beetles is compounded by the lack of space within the house.

Kathleen's children, made up of four sons and a daughter, range from just a few months old to ten years.

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Because of this, overcrowding has become an issue in the flat, with the single mum's two youngest children now sharing a small bedroom with her.

Despite the years of raising these issues with her housing officers, she says she is no closer to leaving the Cranhill home.

Kathleen added: "The overcrowding here puts me on a housing list, but we have been on it for two years now. I'm still sitting at the bottom of the list.

"They are even building new houses across the road. I went on this morning and there were more than 100 people ahead of me.

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"I have even considered making myself homeless.

"This is a beastie infestation - there are real health issues here from my kids. I can't believe the way GHA are treating people.

Glasgow Times:

"Now I'm on my last option to try and get some help."

Despite the issue being raised on multiple occasions by Ms Wilson, she says she feels unsupported by officers at Glasgow Housing Association, with little help offered to resolve the ongoing nightmare she is having to endure.

Now, following inquiries from the Evening Times, Glasgow Housing Association have said they will speak to the family in the coming days to deal with the situation.

Housing bosses have also said that Kathleen and her children 'already have priority' for moving to another home.

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A Glasgow Housing Association spokesperson added: “We understand this is a difficult situation for the family.

“Our specialist contractors treated the home at the first opportunity and we’ve given them advice and support on how to prevent the infestation happening again.

“The family already have priority for moving to a larger home and we’ll sit down with them in the next day or so to look at their options.”