Mice sightings 'characteristic' this time of year

Over the past few weeks, many students have reported mouse sightings in residences and campus buildings.

College sophomore Davielle Brown said her roommate stayed up until 5 a.m. last week, crouching on the living room sofa, traumatized after seeing a mouse in their Harrison College House apartment.

College senior Jolecia Flournory and Engineering sophomore Ogbemi Etchie reported mouse sightings in Huntsman Forum several weeks ago.

While Business Services acknowledges that mice are a perennial phenomenon, they say an influx in sightings is characteristic for this time of year.

“As it gets colder outside, mice are going to start moving inside,” said Doug Berger, executive director of Business Services.

Since students might be inclined to eat in more frequently due to the cold weather, any negligence in food disposal will also contribute to the problem, Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger said.

Despite the number of sightings, Business Services said work request numbers are actually lower than in past years for this time period.

“We have yet to see any trends,” Berger said, “ but that does not mean that there’s not one developing.”

He added that in addition to weather and hygiene, construction projects are also predictive of mouse populations.

“For instance, when they built the Radian, there must’ve been a crosswalk to DuBois,” Berger joked.

Flournory remembered her encounters with mice while living in DuBois College House during her freshmen year — right around the time of the Radian’s construction.

Just before spring break, Flournory saw two mice in her room.

“When the exterminator came and tried to chase it out of my room, it went under the refrigerator and stayed there,” she recalled. “I had to take refuge in my friend’s room, who also had a mouse … we slept on the couch of the multi-purpose room in DuBois that night. It was really a situation.”

Flournory currently lives off campus on 39th and Pine streets where she has “made peace” with a mouse that has taken ownership of her basement since June.

One block west of Flournory, on 40th and Pine streets, College sophomore Mike Ierardi and his housemates are facing bigger rodent problems.

“There are lots of mice here,” Ierardi said. “We’ve already caught three and I see at least one or two a day.”

Ierardi has found mice in his pantry and woken up to the sound of their chomping in his granola boxes, tearing through the packaging.

Miki Farcas, director of Off-Campus Services, said “action against the mice has to be a community effort” of the city, the neighborhood, the landlord and the tenant.

“We call it integrated pest management,” she said.

Policies regarding off-campus pest control are more convoluted than those on campus.

Whereas a Facilities Focus work request is enough to guarantee same-day — or two-day — pest-control services in an on-campus residence, off-campus pest-control responsibilities often fall with tenants, unless more than one apartment is infested.

Off-Campus Services encourages students to review the guidelines on its website for more details.

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