A STEVENSTON mum has kept her windows closed for years for fear of an annual plague of bugs terrorising her.

Every summer, Sarajane Metcalfe is visited by a swarm of creepy crawlies, she said.

Her bug problem reached a peak in 2018 when, during a visit from her aunts from Fort William, Sarajane came into her living room to find a heaving mass of insects on her wall.

She said: “I’d never seen anything like it except in the Amityville Horror.

“There must have been a queen ant or something. They were all piled on top of

each other. I started hyperventilating.”

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Bugs outside Sara Jane's window.Bugs outside Sara Jane's window.

The 39-year-old had to immediately leave her home and take refuge in her mother’s one bedroom house, as she suffers from a phobia of creepy crawlies.

The next day, the bugs were gone.

Her mother, Linda Metcalfe, 68, said: “My daughter is up to high doh trying to get rid of them.

“It’s like there’s a hole in the wall where all the ants are, and they’re just coming out.”

Sarajane keeps her home clean and has no idea why the bugs, which includes flying ants, appear each year.

To keep the beasties at bay, she has bought some heavy-duty pesticide.

She said: “I’m petrified every summer. I don’t live in a hoarder’s house, I like things nice and tidy.”

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Sara Jane's two youngest sons.Sara Jane's two youngest sons.

Sarajane,, who lives with her five children, including a six-year-old and three-

month-old, said: “I feel like I’m the only one battling them. Why is it me?

“I seem to get the swarm.”

Sara Jane said she had complained repeatedly to the North Ayrshire Council, and so had her mum.

But time and again, she said, she was told that it was normal or without proper evidence they could do nothing.

The Herald contacted North Ayrshire Council and inspectors were sent out to Sarajane’s home.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “We attended this property on Friday, July 24, to carry out an inspection and discuss the situation with the resident.

“Work was carried out on the same day to seal a small gap below the living room window and we will also adjust and seal the front door.

“While there were no signs of a bug infestation during our visit, the resident advised that these were the entry points for the flying ants. We are therefore hopeful that these works will help solve the issue.”

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: The pesticide Sara Jane uses to combat the insect invasion.The pesticide Sara Jane uses to combat the insect invasion.