Every year, students at the university pay a total of $12,600-19,200 for their on campus or university sponsored housing, with the expectations of functional utilities, appliances and no pests. However, these expectations sometimes fall short.
On Oct. 6, Kylee Nevens ‘27, and their roommates were asked by an employee of the university’s facilities department if they had any issues relating to a mouse problem in the Ruden Street apartments. Until then, Nevens and their roommates had no mouse problems, and they let the employee know. Right as the employee left, a mouse ran under Nevens’ bedroom door and into their closet.
“Right as he left I saw a mouse run under my bedroom door into my closet so he came back and put down black boxes that were poison traps so the mice basically eat the poison and then an hour later die somewhere which is gross,” said Nevens.
The employee also offered the roommates to put down glue traps, however they declined, opting for more humane traps. These mice sightings are not a new occurrence, with Nevens’ roommate Alanna Puzo having dealt with this issue the previous academic year as well.
“Well, I had one (mouse) in my dorm in Sheffield, but it was towards the end of the year, so nothing much happened,” said Puzo. “They really didn’t do anything to fix it, and we put in a maintenance order, but I don’t really remember what happened because my roommate handled all of it.”
The roommates claim the employee also said there have been reports of a mice issue in Winchester Hall, with the employee attributing the sudden infestation to construction nearby.
“He basically told us that that same day he came from Winchester hall dealing with a mice problem and that multiple buildings on campus have mice and said something about construction driving all the mice into the buildings,” said Nevens.
Despite attempts at intervention, the mice have become a regular sighting. “Since that incident I’ve seen a mouse at least twice a week in my dorm and we have had to put all of our food in plastic sealed containers and buy more traps but we’re still seeing mice if not more than before,” said Nevens.
Puzo expressed frustration with the situation, and said that facilities should do better at handling the problem.
“As a student paying for housing, they should do more to fix this problem,” Puzo said. Puzo also emphasized that facilities should find how the rodents find their way in in order to prevent the issue instead of just intervening.
“I think they should hire an exterminator or try to find where they’re coming from, because I think there are holes in the walls or pipes or something,” said Puzo. Puzo also reiterated Nevens’ claim that the issue persists. “Maybe they should check in more and actually do something to get the mice out, instead of just asking to place traps, because the traps aren’t even working,” Puzo said.
As winter approaches and the weather gets cooler, mice infestations are expected to get worse. For students experiencing pest problems, they can be reported via MyCharger by requesting a work order.
