Several residents of the Campus Village apartment complex owned by JSM Properties have noticed mice running around their homes; some have even seen the troublesome creatures in their living rooms and kitchens.
“I’ve only seen one in our apartment,” Campus Village resident and UW-Madison sophomore Jessica Nichols said. “But our apartment is on the first floor, and I always see them outside.”
Residents said JSM responded promptly by sending an exterminator when notified. Unfortunately, the exterminator is not always able to alleviate the problem.
“I’ve seen two mice in the living room by the vents,” resident and UW junior Drashti Desai said. “Management has sent an exterminator at least three times and he set up glue traps and some poison traps, but the mice still come back.”
However, the exterminator has sometimes been effective.
“We had one mouse in here last year,” said two-year Campus Village resident Louise Colwell. “We called management and they immediately sent an exterminator who set up a trap and we haven’t seen the mouse since.”
Mice are not an unusual problem in Madison, especially in the downtown area where housing is older and there are cracks and ways for them to get in, said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
“Rats and mice are always a problem downtown, especially this time of year,” Verveer said.
The Campus Village complex is relatively new, but that can contribute to the problem. New construction can often stir up mice and force them to leave the fields in which they used to reside. A new apartment complex was completed last summer down the street from Campus Village on Park and Spring Streets last summer, which could have disturbed additional mice.
“Whatever the cause of the mice problem, it is the responsibility of the landlord to eliminate the problem,” Verveer said. Tenants cannot be charged for any activity by landlords to deal with the rodents, nor can they be charged for damages caused by the rodents’ gnawing, nesting or bodily secretions.
“Landlords are required to keep rodents out of their apartments,” Verveer said. “They have to get rid of the mice inside and make the necessary repairs to prevent more from coming in.”
If landlords fail to properly fulfill both requirements, residents can call the building inspector at 266-4551 to file a complaint and seek relief. Relief offers no monetary rewards; it serves as protection from future harm, not compensation for past injury.
JSM properties refused comment on the rodent situation.
Mouse infestation can cause several problems for residents, including the possibility of disease.
Deer mice are a primary carrier of the rare Hanta virus. Exposure to the virus can cause Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, an incurable and potentially fatal disease, that begins with flu-like symptoms and ends with respiratory problems as the lungs fill up with fluid, according to the Michigan State website.
Exposure to mouse feces and urine are the primary cause of Hantavirus infection, the website states. Dust from fecal matter is a concern because if it becomes airborne it can spread throughout an entire residence. Because Hanta virus is present in mouse saliva, mice are also capable of infecting any food they touch.
Another problem mice cause is the fear some people have of the critters.
“Due to the fact that we saw the little fu*ker in our bedroom and under my bed, I know it could easily crawl into my mattress,” Campus Village resident and UW junior Carrie Uutala said. “I don’t like the thought that they could be crawling on me and running through my hair in my sleep.”
Other renters who had mouse problems simply left their apartments and found new places to live.
“When I heard a mouse eating a bag of rice in my first apartment in Madison I flipped,” UW-Madison student Steve Strones said. “Then I remembered my name wasn’t on the lease so I said ‘f*ck this!’ and I left.”
