Ohio University freshman Ashley Showen and her roommate share a record of which no one is envious.
They have caught 10 mice in their Washington Hall room since the beginning of the quarter ' so many that she and her roommate have begun naming them.
Between 22 and 30 mice have been caught in Washington this quarter, Environmental Health Coordinator Sam Hanson said. Although he said dorms all over campus periodically experience mouse problems, Hanson described Washington as the bright shining star of mouse infestations this year.
I can't remember seeing one building show up so many times on my list of to-dos for one quarter
he said.
Showen and her roommate caught their first mouse, Jack during the first week of classes. Showen said Hanson told them that catching 10 mice was a record for most mice in one room ' shattering the previous mark of seven in a room in Tiffin Hall. They caught three mice in an 18-hour period.
Showen said her roommate screams every time one of the traps goes off. The two have tried alternate methods of eradicating the mice, including a device that uses ultrasonic sound waves to deter mice, but rely on the three traps currently in their room.
I don't feel like the university has done a whole lot to solve the problem for the building Showen said.
She said that although Hanson will fill the mouse holes if asked, mice then find another hole in another room.
They're solving the problem for one room
but not the whole building
she said.
Freshman Evan Millward caught four mice in his room in two days.
It's kind of inexcusable given how much we pay to live here and that we don't have a choice but to live on campus for our first two years
Millward said.
Millward said residents have been asked by resident assistants and custodians not to leave food out and to take out their garbage daily.
Showen shared Millward's concerns about the effect on students' health.
It is not that safe to have mice running around
Showen said. We all get sick a lot; I don't know if [the infestation] has anything to do with that.
Hanson said that as long as students aren't handling the mice, there shouldn't be any health concerns.
Hanson received a total of 784 pest complaints last year. Thirteen percent of those were for mice or rats.
Hanson said he is killing as many mice as he can with traditional, spring-loaded mousetraps. He places the traps in students' rooms and encourages students to call him to remove the mice when caught.
There's no more suitable way in my opinion
he said.
He said he would like to avoid using poison on mice in the building because he doesn't want them to die and decompose in the walls. He is, however, considering placing poison bait stations. outside of Washington.
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