From ants to spiders to bees, students have learned to coexist not only with each other on campus, but with the insect world as well. WestCo and Nicolson typically house ants, white spiders and caterpillars, while Eclectic is the permanent residence to a beehive, and the senior woodframe houses have reported house centipedes, hornet nests and animal burrows.
According to Physical Plant, the bee sightings on campus have increased this year. It has even hired licensed contractors to exterminate the insects using green insect sprays. Many students rely on a pet control contractor, affectionately known as the “Ant Lady,” to rid their dorm rooms of such creatures.
“It’s kind of embarrassing when you go to the library and an ant crawls out of your computer,” said Nick Marshall ’10, a resident of WestCo.
Students often recall their run-ins with bugs as if they were great warriors returning from battle.
Kelsey Tyssowski ’11, a resident of WestCo, described an ominous, fast-moving insect, a cross between a millipede and caterpillar, with two-inch-long feeler— description fitting of house centipedes.
“Crawling bugs are okay.,” Tyssowski said. “They don’t bother me. I don’t like them when they are in my bed, but other than that, I don’t mind.”
Exterminations take between three and five days to become effective and usually require only a single session. The bees at Eclectic, however, have inhabited the house for many years.
“It’s a mystical infestation that has withstood all attack,” said Andrei Bowden-Schwartz ’09, house manager of Eclectic. “There were, and still are, always dead and frighteningly alive bees all over the house. Physical Plant has come by on numerous occasions, looked, then sent exterminators around. I have seen exterminators three times already this semester.”
The beehive at Eclectic is located just above the second-story bathroom, below a resident’s window. Bee carcasses are constantly spotted in the houses’ bathroom sinks.
Some students are angered by the insects, while others are more willing to accept the presence of multi-legged roommates. Physical Plant recommends that students refrain from storing food in their rooms and keep their doors and window screens closed in order to deter the insects.
Meanwhile, occupants of senior woodframe houses learn to live with a range of animal occupants: hornets, house centipedes and squirrels. Each year, the residents of 46 Fountain Ave. adjust to life with house centipedes, which have been spotted throughout the house. On one occasion, the occupants noticed a centipede in their silverware drawer.
“My roommate squashed it with a shoe,” said Constance Smith ’08, who resides in the house. “Other than Raid or some other toxic spray, which I think is a bad idea, I don’t think there’s anything we can do. The random shoe-killings are more out of spite than an extermination attempt.”
Students cite the University’s suburban location as the main cause, and many have even come to accept the insects’ presence on campus.
“The bees seem to have as much of a future here as we do,” Schwartz said. “Nobody can get rid of them, for now at least. Physical Plant has been really helpful to us this year. Nobody should have to live with a million bees for roommates.”
Students should report their bug problems to Physical Plant at Extension 3400.
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