Bedbugs. They're pretty much every New York City residents' worst nightmare. Especially considering the amount of us who live in apartment buildings with a plethora of other people who could potentially bring the pests into your community.

Because of them, it costs thousands of dollars to irradiate from your home, not to mention the emotional and physical agony of having pests gnawing on yourself, your family, and your belongings. 

For one Upper West Side landlord, a tenant's zero-response method in addressing an infestation he only worsened, has caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. 

The owner of a Riverside Drive apartment building is suing James Behan, a tenant who rents a second-floor studio, for allegedly allowing a bedbug infestation to grow in severity by ignoring the exterminator's recommendations and refusing certain chemicals outright. 

According to DNAInfo, the landlord of the building was notified by several residents that there were bedbugs infecting their apartments. The landlord notified all tenants of the situation on December 14th, 2015, and informed them that an exterminator would be treating apartments two days following. 

That exterminator determined that the center of the outbreak was confined to the apartment of James Behan, describing that it was the "worst infestation," he had seen, with bedbugs in the "baseboards, outlets, ceilings, and all over the furniture." 

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Behan allowed the exterminator to treat his apartment, but would not let him use certain chemicals. 

According to the lawsuit, the exterminator instructed Behan to seal his personal items to keep the bedbug infestation from worsening, and requested that Behan throw out some of his clothes and items (after they had been sealed). 

However, residents claim that they saw Behan leave his personal belongings in the hallways without any type of seal, that Behan refused to throw out bedbug infested belongings, and that he was noticed leaving the door to his unit open, which allowed bedbugs to continue to spread.

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Via DNAinfo

Apparently, the bedbug infestation was also prevalent in Behan's car, but Behan would not allow the exterminator to treat it. The landlord believes that the infestation of the apartment initially spread from the car after Behan visited another location with a bedbug problem.

The landlord is suing Behan for not complying with an "ongoing bedbug problem" which the landlord believes he caused. He is also suing Behan for creating "unsafe" conditions for fellow tenants, who are still struggling with the onslaught of bedbugs. 

The suit filed is seeking $300,00 in damages and legal fees. Additionally, landlord is seeking a legal injunction that would prevent Behan from interfering with extermination of the apartment. 

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[via DNAinfo] [Feature Image Courtesy Instagram] 

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