Foreclosed property breeds bug concerns

Milford (WTNH) - Residents of a Milford neighborhood are concerned about a foreclosed property that is seemingly a breeding ground for bugs and mosquitoes.

"We just went in once to take a quick look at it and there were a lot of bugs in it -- mosquitoes, gnats and things -- so we left," said Tom Blake of Milford.

The house at 41 Lucille Drive is empty with a public health violation notice tacked to the front door. In the back yard there is waist-high grass with insects crawling around in the water on the pool cover. It's the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and ticks and all the diseases that come with it.

The neighbors say the house has been neglected for more than a year due to a foreclosure that has gone from bank to bank. News Channel 8 went to the Milford Health Department to get some answers, something the Health Department has had a hard time doing.

"It's very difficult to track down ownership so you can take the proper actions and sometimes you have to do what you have to do to go in and go ahead and protect the public health," said Dr. Dennis McBride of the Milford Health Department.

The city had to come in and cut the grass. Locals are worried about the property serving as a breeding ground.

"We worried about the West Nile," said Dr. McBride.

Dr. McBride, along with researchers from the University of Maine, say with all the rain in June this could be a record year for mosquitoes in the Northeast.

That doesn't sit will with Polaski, who lives next to the foreclosure and has been bitten by the mosquitoes, and knows this is the season for West Nile.

"I'm worried about that too," Polaski said. "They say if you put the bug stuff on and keep brushing your arms off. That is what we do, just keep putting up with it. What else are you going to do?"

There is no word yet on what will be done with this property.