Pests can become unwanted guests in a community environment . You can play a big part in minimizing problems by being proactive and keeping the following in mind:
- Keep your room/apartment clean and food items tightly sealed in glass or tin containers.
- After eating or preparing food, clean up thoroughly. Wash dirty dishes, wipe counters and tables and vacuum or sweep often.
- Dispose of empty pizza boxes in the trash room, toss out leftovers or put them in sealed containers. Don’t leave them out for tomorrow.
- Eliminate “harborage”, or shelter for pests. Don’t allow piles of loose papers to accumulate, get rid of empty boxes, paper shopping bags and other types of clutter.
- Put trash where it belongs; don’t leave it in the hallway or stairwell.
- Report problems to Facilities Services, and request follow up if problems persist. Move bedding and furnishings away from the air conditioning or heating units in your room so that the pest control expert can get to cracks and crevices where mice and bugs can travel.
Should a problem develop, put in a service request to Facilties Services for pest management services using Facility Focus, which is accessible from the Penn Portal, or by calling 215-898-7208.
BED BUG TRAVEL ADVISORY: Please note if you are travelling during a break or in the summer months, take a moment to read the University's Bed Bug Travel Advisory.
FAQs and Tip sheets:
For more information about bed bugs, please see our Bed Bug Fact Sheet.
For more information about other pests, please see our Mouse 101 Fact Sheet.
