DeKalb County

Mother says she wants out after unknowingly moving into rat-infested apartment

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A rat infestation at a DeKalb County apartment building has a family desperate to move.

Ishaniek Mays, a mother of two, told Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus that she has caught a dozen rats in her apartment since April.

Code enforcement went to the apartment building Tuesday and said it is out of compliance, due to rats and roaches.

Code enforcement said the apartment building is out of compliance due to rats and roaches.

“It’s disgusting, and it’s horrifying,” Mays said.

Mays said rats and mice are terrorizing her family in their Decatur apartment on Line Circle. She shared several photos with Klaus showing the rodents, including one picture that showed four mice caught on one trap.

“There was nothing in the lease saying that there was going to be rats here,” Mays said.

Mays moved into the apartment in March.

Klaus contacted the DeKalb County Board of Health. A representative told her a different tenant complained of rats in October.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Preventions said rats can carry more than 35 diseases.

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Mays told Klaus that the rodents crawled into her refrigerator and she ended up in the hospital unexpectedly.

“They ate over $200 worth of food. It’s just unsanitary for me and my children,” Mays said.

Her boys are 5 and 7 years old.

DHC Property Management told Klaus it inherited the rat problem and is trying to fix it.

Real estate records show a California-based owner bought the quad-style apartment building in September.

Records also show the building has changed hands 14 times in 35 years.

Curtis Leslie is a groundskeeper at the complex.

“They’re doing everything they can. I know they got two pest control companies come out,” Leslie told Klaus.

Mays said the animals are living and dying in the walls.

A Cook’s Pest Control writeup said “holes in wall too big for tech to repair. Whole area needs to be sheet rocked all over.”

Mays told Klaus she wants out of the apartment and wants her money back.

“I can’t do it anymore,” Mays said.

Code enforcement said the owner of the property has two weeks to come into compliance and eradicate the rat issue.

If not, the owner risks a court date. Health officials also plan to investigate the building.