For Starling Avenue residents, bed bugs are no longer part of a nursery rhyme, but instead have become a real-life nightmare.

Many tenants occupying the Starling Avenue apartment building are bagging their possessions in hopes they can get rid of the bed bug infestation that has left them bitten and bleeding after a night of sleep in their own beds.

According to resident Wilhelmena Aponte, her mattresses are stained with blood from her bug bites. She says her landlord refuses to reimburse her or help get rid of the problem.

"He says it's not the building that brings the bed bugs, it's the people," says Aponte.

However, residents say it's the building that brought the infestations, with people on several floors reporting problems with the critters.

The tenants say they've tried reaching out to management, only to be told the office is currently closed. They worry that soon the entire building will face bed bug infestations if the apartments aren't treated immediately.