By Liz Ratto

When students received their Loftman Hall housing assignments, there was something the letters didn’t mention: some unwelcome roommates.

While many students and residents of Boston deal with rodent invaders during their time in the city, students living in Loftman say the mice problem has spun out of control. The problem has gotten bad enough that plans are in the works for a major extermination effort at the end of the semester, said Director of Residential Life Bob Jose.

“We caught 14 mice in the first semester alone,” said Andrea Heimur, a middler marketing major.

Heimur said every time she caught a mouse she would put in a work order, and that exterminators come to her apartment on a fairly regular basis. Heimur said she is diligent about keeping food in sealed containers, but mice continue to be a constant problem in her apartment.

“They’ll chew through just about everything – Styrofoam, paper towels, cardboard boxes,” she said. “It’s not just the food they’re after.”

Facing similar problems in her Loftman suite, Chloe Oppenheimer, a freshman international affairs major, said she caught about two mice a week during the fall semester. Oppenheimer first noticed the infestation when what she described as a “family of mice” got into some food in a drawer.

When she moved the food to her dresser, she was awakened by the sound of mice trying to climb up to it. Oppenheimer put in two work orders to get rid of the mice, but the sticky traps that were laid down did not do much to help the problem.

“I was really stressed out and constantly getting woken up by mice squeaking in the traps,” she said.

Resident Student Association (RSA) Vice President for Housing Services Christina O’Sullivan said while the rodent problem on campus is one everyone encounters, the situation in Loftman deserves attention. O’Sullivan said there have not been complaints to RSA directly, but they will take steps to look into the problem.

“We’d be more than happy to work with people on getting the problem resolved and speeding along the process,” she said.

Mice have been reported in several residence halls on campus, notably Smith Hall. Freshman undecided major Catherine Noel said residents of Smith have serious trouble with mice, and traps aren’t effective in keeping them out of the rooms.

Noel, along with 10 of her fellow residents, is a member of the Facebook group, “Smith Hall Exterminators” for students experiencing the problem.

Noel said while she was gone for winter break, a mouse climbed into her laundry basket and chewed through several articles of clothing.

Noel said she is personally careful about keeping food properly stored, but does not believe Smith residents are totally free from blame.

“I’m not surprised we have mice,” she said. “A lot of people here are really careless, especially on the weekends when they’re drunk; there’s just food everywhere.”

Jose said this kind of carelessness is the main cause of the mice problem in the dorms. He stressed students need to take steps for proper food storage and garbage disposal provided for them in letters sent out by ResLife to help combat such infestations.

Jose said although there are plans for extermination in Loftman at the end of the semester, until then students should be mindful of their cleanliness and place work orders as needed.

“We live in Boston so mice are just a reality, but that doesn’t mean that we have to invite them in,” he said.