FRI 10 SEP 2004
Some mice tales long, some mice tales short
By Nate PoppinoArgonaut Staff
University of Idaho students and staff disagree over the outcome of a reported mouse invasion of a university residence this summer.
Scott Koehler, UI manager of maintenance services, said university residences has only caught three of the rodents in McConnell Hall. One mouse was found this summer while two more were caught in a mechanical room last week.
Kianna Hail / ARGONAUT - A live mouse is caught on a trap in McConnell Hall this summer.
Students who stayed in McConnell over the summer told a different story.
“Many were caught,” UI junior Joe Nutting said.
“I caught one and three or four guys on the first floor caught some,” said Nutting, a physics major.
Students living in the university residence reportedly began seeing mice in late June. UI junior Dima Myedvyedyev said he first saw a mouse running under his heater in his first-floor room. When other students in the building began reporting mice, Myedvyedyev, an electrical and computer engineering major, bought traps and set them up with peanut butter and bacon bits.
“People on my floor, the basement and the third floor saw them,” Myedvyedyev said. “One guy said he saw three.”
When the mice kept evading his traps, Myedvyedyev and others called maintenance services, which came and put traps and sticky pads in students’ rooms and around building entrances.
Myedvyedyev said his traps never caught any of the rodents because of an ultrasonic mouse repeller his mom sent him.
“One guy caught three mice on the sticky pads,” Myedvyedyev said.
Koehler said when his staff heard the complaints, they followed standard procedures for capturing mice. Two of the staff members are licensed in pest control.
Michael Griffel, UI director of residences, said the cleaning staff did a thorough job of searching for mice.
“The staff was very aggressive. They put traps everywhere,” Griffel said. “There were mouse droppings and I think there was evidence of a small mouse nest, but those were the only mice we caught. Some reports were certainly exaggerated.”
Nutting said the difference between the numbers reported by students and the numbers reported by the university could be because some of the students who bought their own traps or used university traps could have emptied them and not reported anything.
“If you catch one, you just throw it out and (UI) Residences never knows,” Nutting said.
Despite the differing experiences with the small rodents, Nutting said he thought maintenance services did a good job responding to complaints.
“It wasn’t a great job, but it was good,” Nutting said. “It wasn’t like they said, ‘Screw you; buy your own traps.’”
Koehler said he hasn’t heard any more complaints this fall, other than the two mice caught last week.
“We’re still continuing to do anything and everything that can be done,” Koehler said.
Carrie Parmer, McConnell hall co-president and senior health, physical education recreation and dance major said she hasn’t heard much about mice yet.
“I just moved in this fall, so I haven’t seen any,” Parmer said.
Griffel said McConnell has no history of mouse problems, but UI Residences will always respond to complaints.
“We’re always concerned about health risks with mice,” Griffel said.
Today
Reading: “The Art of Absence”Joy Passanante, English professor
College of Law Courtroom
7:30 p.m.
Dance Performance Henning Rubsam
Admission is $5 at the door
Physical Education Building, Studio 110
8 p.m.
Thursday
Biodiesel WorkshopBoise Centre on the Grove
7 a.m.
Dissertation
Ana C. Gonzalez Franco, MMBB
Morrill Hall, Room 202
9 a.m.
Study Abroad Fair
Idaho Commons Courtyard
10 a.m.
Women’s Center Open House
Memorial Gym, Room 109
Noon-5 p.m.
Athena Fall Reception
J.A. Albertson Building
Third Floor, Gary Michael Boardroom
4:30 p.m.
News Editor: Jessie Bonner
UI Argonaut, 301 Student Union, Moscow, ID 83844
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