A report of fleas in Loughran Hall was posted to the Marywood app on September 27 by resident student Jillian Mooney. Despite the post being deleted the day after, rumors of infestation in the first-year residence hall swirled.

Michelle Boughton, director of Housing and Residence Life, said that she was first made aware of any bugs in Loughran via email. The original complaint was not from Mooney, but from a resident down the hall. After Housing and Residence Life communicated with the complainant via email, an exterminator sprayed the hallway outside the room. Boughton, who stepped into her current role in July, has been working in housing and residence life for 20 years. In that time, she has seen plenty of reports of bugs in residence halls. Fleas, however, was something she’d seen only once before.

“That’s not usually something you hear people bring in,” said Boughton.

After the initial complaint and spraying, the situation seemed resolved. The students in the room that originally reported the fleas remained in constant contact with Housing and Residence Life, according to Boughton.

Once the complaint on the Marywood app was brought to the department’s attention, the residents were advised to put out a makeshift trap of dish soap and water in a shallow bowl. They were then asked to keep any dead insects to show to the exterminator. According to Boughton, only two insects were caught from the original complaining room.

Marywood uses Ecolab, a hygiene and sanitation company for situations like these. The exterminator from Ecolab searched both rooms and found no bugs. The ones that were caught in the homemade trap could have been fleas, but the exterminator was unable to determine this positively. After the search, Ecolab sprayed the inside of both rooms as well.

“This is not indicative of an infestation. Someone could be carrying in one or two. There have been no issues with flea carrying rodents, and there are no emotional support animals or illegal animals in the area of the affected rooms,” said Boughton.

Jillian Mooney declined to comment on the situation.

Despite the two bugs caught, Boughton is not concerned about the potential for the bugs to spread. She encouraged students and parents to feel free to contact her with concerns or questions regarding the bugs or anything in relation to Housing and Residence Life.
“I am happy to share what I know, and it’s my job to rectify the situation,” said Boughton.

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