Local mom contacts city over rat problem inside apartment

A local mother says she’s had enough after dealing with rats inside her Killeen apartment.

LaShon Turner says she’s been having rat problems at Bridgewater Retreat Apartments, located on West Hallmark Avenue, since February. She says her three children also live with her and their health and safety became a concern.

In video she recorded back in June, you can see the pesky rodents crawling in her kitchen.

“I don’t live like that,” Turner said. “I don’t expect to see rats where I’m paying rent.”

Turner’s friend, Terence Anderson, says he came from Austin to help with the rat problem.

“I caught one with a little trap, it was so big just sitting sideways on its stomach it was this wide off the ground. We thought it was two or three, but four, five, six pop out,” Anderson said. “These rats so big, you can tell they at least got to be four, five years old.”

Turner says traps were set, but the issue was not stopping.

“I started pushing the issue back in May it started to be a problem. I paid half of the rent. I told her when she uphold the end of the bargain, I would pay the other half of the rent,” she said.

Then she hit her breaking point.

“What broke the camel’s back was when the rat was in the bed, I pulled the covers back and saw a rat. So that morning, I took my kids to school, went to code enforcement, the Department of Health,” she said.

The City of Killeen confirmed to News 10 a complaint was filed and a remediation was ordered to be done within seven days.

Manager Angie Williams says an exterminator came to the apartment. She also says the apartment complex was not made aware of issues until last month and traps were being disabled.

“We do not have a rat infestation. We have 220 tenants that live here. We’re also Section 8 approved. If we had a rat infestation, her next-door neighbor is on Section 8, she hasn’t seen any rats,” Williams said.

Base Management Services, LLC, representing the complex, sent the following statement:

“Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the issue at Bridgewater Retreat. We take all of our resident's concerns very seriously, which is why we contract with a reputable pest control company to address any issues brought to our attention. There was an issue brought to our attention in July, that was addressed by the pest control company. Upon returning to the apartment for follow up treatment, it was found that the resident had disabled the traps and placed them in her kitchen cabinet. While we do try our best to address all situations brought to our attention, we do require the cooperation of our residents in order to resolve the issue.

We care very much for all of our residents and do our best to ensure that they have an enjoyable living experience at our community.”

After receiving notices, Turner has no choice but to move. She is also hoping to fight the notices she's received after refusing to pay her full rent until the problem was fixed.