Spiders, roaches, wasps, and other insects are being spotted on campus.
Coming back from Spring Break, many students were surprised to find that, when they walked on campus, they caused a swarm of what looked like flying spiders to come up from the grass.
Debra McVay, events and facilities manager, said she is happy to inform students about how facilities can help when they have a pest problem.
“We have issues every year,” McVay said. “Wasps swarm in certain areas every year. Sometimes students will put in a work order that says they have a black widow or brown recluse spider in their room. That is usually not the case because a lot of people aren’t trained to recognize what they are seeing, but we never take any chances.”
Work orders process within 24 to 48 hours, McVay said. There have been no confirmations of any poisonous spiders on campus.
Pest control has dealt with wasps in the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts Management and the Gold Star Memorial Building this semester. Pest control treated roach-like insects in the Meinders School of Business and trapped a bat in Wanda L. Bass Music Center.
“Kelly Johnson, our pest control guy, is so diligent and he will fog, he will spray, he will come after hours and treat,” McVay said. “He has been our contractor on campus for many years, so he values our business and he values the safety of our students.”
Many students are nervous about insects on campus and don’t know what is being done about the problem.
After noticing the spiders, Bekah Wade, business senior, said she panicked and would not have known what to do if they decided to swarm.
“I would have lost my shit if I had seen that happen,” Wade said. “Like, literally, would have broke down and cried on campus.”
If anyone is afraid of spiders or other insects, McVay said, they should go to an residents assistant and facilities can help them out, after hours or whenever needed.
No one has reported anything to facilities about any kind of flying spiders or other insect activity, McVay said.
“Ya’ll just need to tell us because, if no one tells us, we don’t know, and we can’t fix it,” McVay said.
Facilities and housing have protocols they follow to fix the problem, McVay said, so the best option would be to submit a work order and then talk to an RA.
In case of an emergency, call the facilities department at 405-208-5382 and follow up with a work order.
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