When seniors Kathleen Geraghty and Holly Thooft moved into their first-floor apartment in Flynn, they had some unwelcome guests.
“Holly moved into our apartment a week before the official move-in day,” Geraghty said. “I got a text message from her a few days later saying that she woke up to a mouse running across her bedroom floor. So, we know that there was at least one in the apartment and I actually caught one about a week ago.”
Flynn Hall has been dealing with the rodents for a few weeks, mainly on the first floor and lower level.
Another first-floor resident, senior Dani Blackowiak, said that she has also seen a mouse in her room.
“I saw one mouse in the apartment this last weekend and it ran under the door and behind the fridge. My roommates and I have basically been trying not to keep any food out that would tempt them to come in.”
To get rid of the rodents, St. Thomas is taking action, Flynn Area Director Katie Olson said.
“St. Thomas has gotten Ecolab to go into the rooms that reported seeing a mouse and set up some traps,” she said. “Hopefully the problem will be solved soon.”
According to Thooft, Ecolab has and continues to address the issue on a regular basis.
“Ecolab still comes in once a week to check on the apartment,” she said. “They’ve even told us that if we catch one and we don’t want to touch it, they’ll take care of it and remove it for us.”
Flynn Hall is not the only residence hall to experience a problem with mice. Cretin Hall had its share of rodents last year, when many residents saw mice in the dorm rooms. Senior Mark Schreck and sophomore Ross Schreck said they saw mice on a total of 16 different occasions last year between the first and fourth floors.
Senior Paul Milner was also a resident of Cretin Hall last year and said that mice had become a major issue for the residence hall.
“My personal favorite was the one that died under the radiator,” said Milner. “It smelled like it was cooking over the next few days.”
If you see a mouse in your dorm or apartment, contact Residence Life or your hall director.
Cynthia Johnson can be reached at john3175@stthomas.edu.