Waking up to discover ants crawling up his leg in bed was the last straw for a resident in sheltered housing at Market Deeping.
Ray Garratt rents a one-bed ground floor flat in John Wake Close, where he has lived since moving from Lichfield to look after his wheelchair-bound mother about 20 years ago.
Every morning he says he opens the lounge door to see hundreds of ants marching across the floor.
He said: “They look as if they are coming out two by two. My vacuum cleaner’s on permanent standby.
“I’ve had to take my bedding out of the airing cupboard and wash it again because they get in that.
“One night I woke up and felt this itching on my leg and when I looked they were in the bed.”
Now disabled himself, he contacted the Lincolnshire Free Press because he has been unable to get any help from Accent Nene - the housing association that runs the close.
From the outside the development is attractively laid out with flower beds and hanging baskets and seating areas.
But Mr Garratt, who pays £350 a month in rent, says he rarely gets time to enjoy it because he is almost permanently on ant watch.
The ants are entering the property from under the hot water tank in the airing cupboard in his lounge.
As well as leaving a soil-like mound at the back, they have eaten away at the insulation around a valve at the front.
When the Free Press visited him the door to the airing cupboard had been left open and dead ants were clearly visible on the side of the tank from when Mr Garratt had been killing the latest visitors into his home.
Mr Garratt touched the lino flooring and out came more ants. He said: “There you are, you see. You kill some then more come.
“I’ve used ant killer on them but because I don’t know exactly where they are coming in I can’t stop them.
“Before Accent took over a year ago someone used to come every year and put something down and it would sort it. But when I called them they said they didn’t deal with ants.
“I can’t afford to get a pest control man in. I’ve been told it would cost quite a bit because the tank would have to be moved. It’s not something I could do.
“What about health and safety?
“I’m not someone who likes to complain, but I shouldn’t have to live like this.”
The Free Press contacted Accent, which manages over 4,000 homes throughout Buckinghamshire, the East Midlands and East Anglia.
There are 54 flats in the close, built in 1981 and renovated in 2004. Accent offers lounge, guest facilities, garden, activities room, hairdressing salon and a club room with bar.
When we explained the extent of Mr Garratt’s ant problem, Accent promised to look into it because it sounded like an “infestation”.
However, the spokesman later said: “I’m sorry, we’ve had a look at it but we just don’t deal with ants.
“We do rats - but not ants. Mr Garratt needs to use an ant killer that will be taken to the nest.”