On and off throughout the years, rodents have found a home in the walls and vents of Los Alamitos dorms at Cal State Long Beach — and they seem to have made a comeback this spring.
Last semester, four to five-inch rodents were spotted in student residents’ dorms, some of which have helped themselves to dormers’ food from their rooms. The Housing Department representatives said they have been attentive to the issue since it was discovered that the dorms were infested.
“We have been working with a professional pest control company,” said Corry Colonna, housing executive director. “Our own staff facilities are ensuring that the traps are checked and maintained regularly.”
Although housing and the Stanley Pest Company have declared that the problem is just a rodent issue, some people who live in Los Alamitos express they have encountered rodents in their dorms.
“I guess I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Megan Schoeff, Los Alamitos room advisor and junior communications major. “Two of our residents trapped a [rodent] under a plastic trash can and it needed to be contained for when staff came to deal with it.”
Schoeff said she had to sit on the trash can until faculty came to take the rodent away. According to her, you could feel the size of the animal from pressure on the side of the trash can.
“At first we were told a exterminator would come over winter break but that never happened because when we came back we saw the [rodents] had eaten through the walls in bunch of the rooms.” Schoeff said.
Since last October, there have been about a dozen calls from the Los Alamitos third floor building.
“I first got a call about scratching from the vents,” said Grace Vignali, Los Alamitos room advisor and senior math major. “The residents were pretty freaked out about it. A lot of the rodents came up to the third floor.”
According to Colonna, they have not received a complaint about rodents in the residence halls since before the semester started.
“We have been vigilant,” Colonna said. “Our main priority is to ensure that our facilities are safe and clean for all of our residents.“
This is not the first time there has been a rodent incident in the university dorms. In 2013, rats were found next to the Parkside residential dining hall.
According to Colonna, outside animals want to find a warm place to inhabit, away from cold winter conditions. Traps have been placed outside Los Alamitos hall to alleviate the problem.
“The other option we have is to put poison,” Colonna said. “We can potentially do that in the summer but not when students are there. Poison is not ideal because the rodents may die inside the walls and we do not want that. We have done everything the pest company told us to do and we continue to do so.”
Housing has advised students to alert them the moment they believe there is a rodent in their room.
“The most important thing is that they put in a work order,” Colonna said. “It is about keeping food away, throwing away their trash and residents being clean in their dorms.”