Critters invade student dorms

Over the course of this semester, residential students have complained about the high percentage of bugs in and around their dorms.

There is not simply one type of bug infiltrating the area – there’s an assortment of ants, flies, beetles and more commonly, spiders. Clubs like the Residence Hall Association have been successful at cleaning up this issue in many individual freshman dorm rooms, if complaints continue, more force is going to be necessary in order to remove all of the critters. 

Students living in the Main Humboldt apartments have expressed mixed opinions about the number of bugs inside or outside of their apartments. Sophomore Jordan Alston, a resident of the upper level of Main Humboldt apartments has no bugs inside his actual residence. However, he said there have been bugs around the outside of the windows. 

On the other hand, senior Lindsay Carroll said, “I’ve lived on the upper floor of Main Humboldt for two years and have seen everything from small jumping spiders to moths and waterbugs. My rooomate and I are killing something at least once a day.

The amount of spiders vary around the perimeter of the Main Humboldt apartment complex. In some instances the spider webs on the entryways are easily cleaned. “The spiders can be a hassle when opening a window or two, but it’s not overwhelming,” Alston said. 

Other circumstances are intolerable. 

Sophomore Delethia Pope, a resident in the upper level apartment in Main Humboldt, has a lot more spiders to deal with. “The amount of spiders on the inside are crazy,” she said

Victoria Murty, a sophomore resident of the lower level apartments of Main Humboldt has had an ant problem in her  kitchen since the beginning of September. The residents placed some ant traps down, but these traps have failed to rid of the problem. Murty  adds that she doesn’t know where they’re coming from. “We don’t leave food out or have spills so there should be no reason for them to be there. They hide mostly under the dishwasher but some also underneath the oven. We’ve done all that we can to get rid of them but they continue to retreat from the same spot every time.” 

Though the bugs are most prominent in Main Humboldt, bugs have become a campus wide problem. Students have complained of problems with ants in the Delevan Townhouses. 

One student from Frisch who wished to remain unnamed noted that bugs were present in the entryways of Frisch Hall in August. “There were bugs carpeting the floor. At first I thought it was dirt or dust, but then I realized that they were moving. It was gross.”

The resident said the bugs were little, white and silver. “They were in the entryways and in some of the rooms. A few of my neighbors found them in their beds and by their lights. They got them cleaned.”

Director of Residence Life Matt Mullville said the reason for the amount of bugs in the dorm rooms was spurred in part by the dry weather this summer. He doesn’t see a big problem, just a seasonal issue that will take care of itself. Any student with a problem should contact Residence Life.

“I think there was some duress from the lack of rain this season,” he said. 

Mulville also commented on the mysterious white and silver bugs in Frisch Hall. “I believe that they’re sand flies. A few summers ago when we were in a similar weather pattern, I was at a Bison’s game and a cloud of sand flies made it hard to see. It was incredible.”

Unfortunately, this doesn’t solve the problem of the spiders and ants. Bennie Williams, Hall Director of Village Townhouses, does acknowledge that. “If students bring it to our attention, we are more than willing to alleviate the problem.” In addition, Williams states that this bug problem has happened in past years as well and Residence Life has been immediate when it comes to resolving the issue.

Though there is no definite cause for the amount of bugs in the residence halls, Canisius students can help prevent these insects from appearing in the dorms. The winter is approaching and bugs can venture into the windows of residence halls to keep alive during the cold weather conditions. 

In order to keep the residence halls at their best, students are encouraged to clean up any food or sugary drinks that have spilled. If insects emerge from unknown causes, they should alert Residence Life and put in a work order with Facilities management. 

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 claflin@canisius.edu