They call her "Zsa Zsa," as in Gabor, but Jadwiga Dziedziczak, 60, has certainly not lived the glamorous life of her namesake.

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Ms. Dziedziczak came from Poland in 1990 to be with her sister after losing her husband in a car crash and suffering the first of two strokes. For the last 10 years, though, she's lived in an Ottawa public-housing apartment on Wurtemburg Street with her dog, Mickey.

A friend, Anna Karpinski, who emigrated from Poland in 1987, says Ms. Dziedziczak suffers from stress and high blood pressure and is susceptible to blood clots. Her problems are compounded because she speaks very little English. Her second stroke, about seven years ago, actually made her English worse. She hasn't worked since moving to Canada and her only money is what she gets in social assistance.

Her troubles aside, Ms. Dziedziczak has good friends, many of whom she met at a nearby park where people go to walk their dogs.

Yolande Desjardins, a property manager, says they all have difficulty communicating with Ms. Dziedziczak, but get through it one word at a time or by using their fingers to draw imaginary letters or numbers. Several months ago, though, the usually pleasant, happy-go-lucky Ms. Dziedziczak didn't have to say anything to tell Ms. Desjardins that something was terribly wrong.

"She had so much despair on her face," says Ms. Desjardins. Ms. Dziedziczak began weeping as she told her friend of her embarrassing secret. Her apartment was infested with bedbugs. She couldn't believe it, because she worked so hard to keep her home clean.

It's obvious that Ms. Dziedziczak's life has been turned upside-down by the insects, and it should be something for Mayor Larry O'Brien and the rest of city council to ponder as they consider budget cuts, including spending for social-housing needs.

Ottawa Community Housing is asking the city to increase pest-control spending to $420,000 from $240,000. A "healthy" portion of pest control goes toward bedbug extermination, says Jo-Anne Poirier, chief executive of the housing agency.

Bedbugs bite, multiply rapidly and gravitate to warm places such as bedding and couches. They can hide behind mouldings and inside electrical outlets. They bite people and feed on their blood, usually when the people are sleeping. As in Ms. Dziedziczak's case, the bites leave bumps and welts and cause a severe itch.

Bedbugs don't discriminate, but social housing units seem particularly vulnerable, partly because of transient tenants who may bring them into buildings with mattresses, couches and clothing that are already infested.

Almost 1,300 city housing units have already been treated this year for bedbugs. Some of the apartments were repeat calls. That's an increase of more than 300 per cent over 2006 when exterminators were called 369 times. A website operated by the City of Toronto, which also has experienced a dramatic rise in bedbug infestations at public-housing apartments, says "an infestation can cause anxiety and a feeling of shame."

In Ms. Dziedziczak's case, there was so much stress from so little sleep that she often used sleeping pills to help her cope at night. Almost two weeks ago, a friend in the building found her on the floor of her apartment and called paramedics. Ms. Dziedziczak had taken an overdose. She's been at the Montfort ever since, except for a day last weekend when she was allowed to go to a friend's to see Mickey.