<p>I found there is a mice problem in Swarthmore dorms. How about other colleges? Is it common problem?</p>
<p>I would be surprised if this weren't a common problem on campuses where the weather is cold/snowy. Mice like to escape the cold like us and dorms are a good haven especially if food is left around in lounges/kitchens or dorm rooms.</p>
<p>If there are older dorms on the campus, and any less-than-ideal weather (speaking from experience, even SoCal is not immune), it's a likely sometimes problem. I say "sometimes" because it's the sort of problem that's likely to crop up for a semester, be taken care of over summer or winter break, and then go away for awhile. I had one problematic semester, but I lived in the same dorm for two years and had no other issues. Another semester, I heard the complaint from residents in another dorm, and it also went away after break, when the school was free to take major action by re-sealing the buildings. In the meantime, they were attentive, setting up humane traps, emptying garbage more often, informing students of the problem and asking them to please be mindful of certain things, etc., but there wasn't a lot else that could be done.</p>
<p>I've also heard of ant problems. And cockroach problems. And the occasional scorpion issue.</p>
<p>In truth, a lot of this is regional, and much of it is nearly unavoidable. It's also more likely to be problematic in certain buildings, but you might not have your choice of dorm as a freshman. You'll want to know if there are any major, ongoing issues, of course. But otherwise, ask what the school would/does do in the case of a pest problem. This is probably handier info, and also more likely to get you a frank response from tour guides.</p>
<p>Yeah, I had mice too and they were the annoying types. The types that enjoy staring at your face and don't get scared when you move or make noise to scare them. Get mouse traps as soon as you can. They multiply unimaginably.</p>
<p>get mice traps...**** humane, I don't give a !%#$ how the mice feel about it...if they're in my room, they die. period</p>
<p>sorry, but humane mouse traps are worthless. Let them go outside and they get right back in.
I say kill the little b******s. They pose some rather significant risks to humans, clearly not worth their rodent lives</p>
<p>Me and this other guy caught a bunch of mice in our dorm...we made the mistake of putting all of them in the same crate. They multiply like crazy, if you go this direction...keep one mouse and then 'accidentally' let one of the stray cats into your dorm. Nothing works better than a proficient mouser</p>
<p>I am a multiple cat owner ( okay, a crazy cat lady )
Only one of my boys could catch a mouse.
The others were amused and entertained by them, but forget about them catching one.
The one boy who could died an untimely death and I have oftened wondered if his love for the mouse , in the year we had an issue with them contributed to it. I tried the humane, mouse trap easy way...then I got aggressive with the poisons.
But you are right, there is nothing like a good old mouser cat.
Unfortunately, a Maine Coon living the good life is not exposed to the same circumstances as a regular old cat,thus making them useless for keeping the population in check</p>
<p>Mice??? In my dorm?</p>
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>umm poison can be bad. they eat it and then curl up in a corner and die. then it reeks really bad and you can't find the smell.</p>
<p>the smell is mild compare to the threat of fire from chewed wires.
the smell goes away rather quickly, when they dry up. If you keep things clean and picked up it is less likely that you cannot find the source of the smell.
Poison is better than the alternative. If you have allergies or athsma, mice can put you in a very bad and dangerous situation, and land you in the ER.
Humans vs mice....I don't have a problem seperating the two.</p>
<p>poison is good, but only if you can find the kind that drys them up quickly (there was one such brand in my country, but I failed to find it here). I used the sticky kind and the old fashioned (with chocolate and peanut butter as bait). Took me about a week to get rid of them. I caught about 6.</p>
<p>i am absolutely terrified of mice/rats/roaches and this thread is staring to scare me</p>
<p>Don't freak out...it's controllable...I first had mice issues this semester. I heard something going through my trash...freaked out....grabbed a flashlight, and saw that it was a mouse. So I turned on my lights, and put on some music and went to sleep that way (hoping the mouse would be scared off my the light and noise). I bought some mouse traps...and ended up catching about 5-6 mice...and that was the end of it.</p>
<p>mice in dorm? disgusting. UPENN? crazy.</p>
<p>if i find mice, i will move. if i find cockroaches, i will move.</p>
<p>why would i pay 12,000 a year to live in a infested sleeping area?</p>
<p>Dorms have mice. It doesn't matter how much $$ you pay or how prestigious the school is, it just matters if you live in a region with mice.</p>
<p>You'll survive, really. At least in Boston, the lucky ones have mice. The unlucky ones have cockroaches.</p>