Routine health inspections by the Rhode Island Department of Health found violations of health codes, including the presence of rodent droppings, at multiple University of Rhode Island dining halls, according to Food Establishment Inspections.
A live mouse was found in a snap trap in the Rams Den kitchen during the inspection, according to the Dec. 8 report. The mouse was disposed of when found.
Rodent droppings were found under/behind equipment in the Rams Den kitchen areas, according to the report. This was a repeat violation and pest control comes twice weekly. The Dec. 8 inspection of the Rams Den was a reinspection after a Nov. 18 inspection found six violations, including the presence of rodent droppings.
In Hope Dining Hall, an “accumulation of rodent droppings” was found in the kitchen and pantry areas, according to the Dec. 8 report. This was a repeat violation.
URI Dining Services Director Pierre St-Germain did not respond for comment on the above violations, found after a Dec. 5 interview with The Good Five Cent Cigar regarding URI Catering.
RIDOH found that the Catering Department’s facility, located in the Dining Services Distribution Center, violated four codes relating to the presence of rodents in the building, according to a Nov. 19 Food Establishment Inspection Report. Inspectors found a “large accumulation of rodent droppings.”
URI Catering has enlisted the help of Debug Pest Control, the same company employed by the university for pest control, according to Dining Services Director Pierre St-Germain. As temperatures drop, rodents start to migrate indoors. St-Germain has met with Debug to devise a pest control plan for the winter months.
“We’ve already had this addressed once, but, you know, everyone’s persistent in trying to get in,” St-Germain said.
RIDOH found gaps in the floors and windowsills, as well as floor and wall junctures, according to the Food Establishment Inspection Report. These must be fixed by Jan. 8 to “aid in the pest control program.”
“We have to ensure that we block any external holes that may exist, which we did two years ago, but it’s possible that they’ve been reopened,” St-Germain said.
The upcoming J-Term session will allow for more work to be done, according to St-Germain. Deep cleaning over the winter break will allow for a better assessment of the issue.
“We have [Debug] coming twice a week currently, but during the J-Term downtime session, if you will, we are going to do a more expansive amount of work to get that under control,” St-Germain said.
Nearby construction can also drive rodents indoors, according to St-Germain. The Dining Services Distribution Center is located on Flagg Road, where construction on a new dorm building has begun.
“And we, as a university, you’re kind of always in the state of construction, whether it’s for expansion or improvement,” St-Germain said. “Those are some things that happen.”
In the short term, gaps in the walls and floor junctures will be sealed by temporary fills, according to St-Germain. Dining Services is hoping to renovate the building in the coming years to address long-term solutions.
Indoor solutions will include a variety of traps, according to St-Germain.
“It’s a multi-pronged attack,” St-Germain said. “You know, unfortunately, the only thing we don’t use is poison of any kind, obviously, because of what we’re dealing with.”
The implemented solutions have seen positive results, according to St-Germain. The presence of rodents has decreased at the distribution center over recent weeks.
