Dealing with mice in Coronado

by Jeremy Hunt

Daily Lobo

Student Mary Fortuin's room in Coronado Hall was occupied by unwelcome guests over winter break - mice that littered her room with feces.

"It just makes my skin crawl," she said. "I know the mice aren't going to kill me, but their diseases might."

Fortuin said she's filed three work orders with Residence Life since she found a mouse in her room at the beginning of November. However, the situation has not improved, she said.

"It's been a problem for three months, and it's gotten worse," she said. "I don't understand why they didn't do more the first time."

Willie West, manager of grounds and landscaping for Physical Plant, said the department began investigating the mouse problem in Coronado Hall when calls started pouring in from students moving back into their rooms this semester.

Chuck Wellman, housing manager, said about 15 mouse-related complaints have been filed since September.

West said there is an increase of mice during the winter months, but this year is worse than usual.

"The overall problem is the temperature and weather conditions outside are such that the mice are being driven indoors," he said. "There's got to be another factor, and it may just be dumb luck."

Garret Lee, area coordinator for Coronado Hall, said Residence Life will take care of the problem.

"It's not something we take lightly," he said. "According to me, this is their (students') home. This is where they live, and they have a right to be comfortable in their home."

When Fortuin discovered the feces, she said she told Residence Life about it, and some of it was removed.

She said she was given $50 to clean her belongings and was given the option of taking a room in another building.

Fortuin said she moved out of the building the day she came back to campus.

Fortuin said she couldn't sleep after the mice started coming into her room.

"I'm paying to have mice (expletive) on my stuff," she said. "It's just so gross."

Lee said there have been isolated problems with mice in the building that began toward the end of the fall semester.

"It's recently come to our attention we need to do something more about the mouse issue," he said.

When there is a problem in the building, students file a work order to the area coordinator. The work order goes to the housing department, which then handles the situation.

West said Physical Plant is setting up mouse traps around the building and has recommended building modifications to keep the mice out, but that will require additional funding.

"It's a hard building to even keep the mice out of, and once they get in, it's hard to manage," he said.

Lee said students can help keep mice away by keeping their rooms clean and not having open food containers. Students should use plastic, sealable containers, he said.

Fortuin said she made sure her room was clean and vacuumed before she left for break and rinsed out aluminum cans before putting them in her trash bin.

She said Residence Life needs to address this as a serious problem.

"If you got the public health people in here, I think they'd raise hell," she said. "This isn't a sanitary living condition."