Though most college campuses are plagued with pests such as roaches and mice, Tufts strives for originality in its infestations. Over the past few weeks, students have reported dead skunks rotting under buildings, birds in the ceiling, opossums rooting through trash, and rats in the vending machines - all alongside the more common pests.
The Lincoln-Filene Center, home of the University College of Citizenship and Public Service, was also the home of an odd pest problem. A skunk residing underneath the building died a month ago, producing an odor that was detectable in the rooms above. Receptionist Joan Buote said that she was "aware of the odor but it wasn't overbearing."
The Facilities Department has been called to deal with the problem, but the skunks have been popping up elsewhere too.
Members of the Russian house have noticed what one resident called a "family of skunks" living behind the building. The Russian House has experienced a number of recent pest problems, according to resident junior George Nitzburg. He said his roommate, Maurycy Rak, heard a scratching sound which was assumed to be a mouse.
Though Nitzburg discovered that there had been a mouse rotting in a wall of the Russian house, the scratching was actually a bird stuck in the ceiling.
"I don't know how it got in our ceiling, because we live on the second of three floors," Nitzburg said. Members of the Russian House have also reported seeing an opossum that rummages through trash in the daytime.
A Ginn library employee found a dead rat in a vending machine in Mugar hall. The employee reportedly went to grab her purchase, and instead pulled out a dead rat.
Similar pests have been spotted all over campus. Aside from isolated events such as the bird in the Russian House, Tufts students have long been aware of more widespread infestation problems, such as the so-called "Wren bugs" of Wren Hall.
"They look like millipedes but with even more legs," explained freshman Ming-Ming Lee, a resident of Wren. "They have long antennae and move really fast so you can't catch them." Though Lee's suite has been free of "Wren bugs" for a few months now, a new insect has replaced them. "Now we have millions of ants," Lee said. Lee and her suitemates have not yet called the Facilities Department about the ants since they received no response about their former infestation. Lee's suite is on the ground floor of Wren Hall, which she believes explains her issues with pests. "The upper floors don't have as many problems," Lee said.
Mice are frequently found in a number of dorms, but the problem is especially noticeable in West Hall. "We've seen them all year long," West resident sophomore Rachel Androphy said. Adrophy added that mice are a problem for everyone on the second floor.
"We called Facilities and they'd set traps for a while," Androphy said. "They said they'd do something over winter break, but they never did because things got worse when we came back in January. One week we caught seven mice, and they were squealing in the traps at 4:30 in the morning. But we called the police and they came right away."
The Ginn library has also been battling a large mouse problem. According to Ginn employee Junior Amy Goldman, they find mice everywhere.
"There is really bad mouse problem in the library find dead mice everywhere, Goldman said. "We find them in bookshelves, offices, and on the floor."
Director of Medford Facilities, Ron Esposito, said similar pest problems are found at schools throughout the Boston area.
"I think it had a lot to do with the weather, the late onset of winter gave rodents more time to breed, when the cold weather comes they go inside," Esposito said.
He said that the problem has been worst in Stratton, West and Houston Halls, but it seems to have gotten better in the past few weeks.
When Facilities is called, typically an outside contractor traps the pests and sometimes use tracking powder to find where rodents enter and move around in the building. In extreme situations, such as in Stratton, West or Houston, Facilities carpenters or outside contractors will fill the penetration holes and look for unnoticed holes in the building's perimeter. "Mice are troublesome, they can go through a hole the size of spaghetti, just need to clear their backbone," Esposito said.
He notes that these procedures were taken with Stratton over winter break and recently with West. Houston appears to be the main problem now. There was a problem with squirrels entering the building from a tree, so the tree was pruned. "It's been very expensive this year, but I think we've really turned the corner on it," Esposito said.
If a student has a pest problem in their room, Esposito says to call Facilities right away. The contractors should arrive soon to set out the traps. "Then be patient, takes a while to catch them in traps," he said. It takes about six to seven weeks to get rid of the pests after the first identification.
Despite the seemingly absent extermination efforts over winter break, Androphy and her roommates are generally pleased about the University's response to their complaints. Exterminators from Facilities have filled up a number of holes in Adrophy's suite, including one behind the radiator. "It's hard to get mad at the exterminators because they're so nice about it," Androphy said.
