Treat or treat canceled in Michigan neighborhood after massive cockroach infestation
A Michigan neighborhood shut down trick-or-treat festivities this year after a vacant house on the block was overrun by cockroaches, sparking fears that the worms are traveling home with the partygoers.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a tidy person, a hoarder, cockroaches come into all these houses,” Becky Wallace, who lives near the haunted house in Wyandotte, told Click on Detroit. The city is located about 11 kilometers south of Detroit.
City officials decided to cancel trick-or-treating near 20th Street, closing sidewalks in the area Monday because of the infestation. Officials fear that people could step on cockroach eggs and spread them throughout the area.
“It is in the best interest of the citizens to close 20th Street and the sidewalks from Eureka to Grove on Monday, October 31, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.,” the city wrote in a letter to residents of close WXYZ reported Monday for sidewalks in anticipation of Halloween.
Children get treats from candy chutes while trick-or-treating for Halloween in Woodlawn Heights on October 31, 2020 in New York City. The CDC shared on its website alternative ways to still celebrate the holiday while being safe.
(David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
“Barricades and signage will be placed on the road and sidewalks in Grove, the intersection of Orchard and Pine, and in Eureka, closing the road and sidewalk to vehicles and pedestrians. It is recommended that Trick ‘r Treating be discouraged in this area.” the letter continued.
Walking in the street could help kill the cockroaches, but their eggs could still spread and survive, City Council member Todd Hanna noted.
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This dead cockroach was one of several found in a vacant apartment in the Lincoln Heights area of NE Washington, DC, on September 23, 2022.
(Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Remember when children were small, and drag their costumes, and drag their bags, well from my understanding, you can step on cockroach eggs, and you can take them home, you can spread them. I don’t want. from be brought home to mom and dad,” added Wallace to Click on Detroit.
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A view of stalls with pumpkins and special products for the festival ahead of next Halloween in Washington DC, the United States, September 28, 2022. The United States is preparing for pre-pandemic levels of trick-or-treating in Halloween, which is celebrated on the last day of October, with colorful costumes and horror-themed decorations.
(Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
City Engineer Greg Mayhew said the ban spooky holiday tradition will prevent “further roach migrations.”
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A garbage man was the first to spot the infestation, according to local officials. Wallace recounted that the garbage collectors “picked up one or two bags and said, ‘whoa’.”
“They he contacted the police and they were right out,” Wallace said.
Designer Barb Salzman, of Hatch Creative Studio, hands out candy to children in treat or treat on October 31, 2021 in New York City. Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced “to go out and enjoy Halloween” citing trick or treating and other outdoor activities pose little risk to those vaccinated.
(Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
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The city is currently trying to kill the cockroaches, but “it will take some time,” according to Mayhew.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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