Rats have been seen running around Stanmer Court residence on campus causing alarm amongst students.
Staff at the residence hall said that they are doing all that they can to stop the rodents but suggested that students were leaving their rubbish in inappropriate areas and creating a mess which attracts the rats.
Sussex Estates and Facilities and the University told The Badger that they were aware of the situation and that appropriate measures had been undertaken to eradicate the problem.
Chuaman You, a PHD student said: “It’s disgusting. Something should be done about it.”
Rachel Paton, a resident of Stanmer Court, confirmed that she and some of her friends had seen rats around their building and said that there appear to be less since the University started dealing with the problem.
The University said that they have employed an outside contractor to kill the vermin and the situation is now being monitored in case further measures are necessary.
Bilal Shariff said that he had seen a few rats while walking in the courtyard between the blocks and said that he thought some students were to blame for the increase in rat sightings: “Some people just expect someone else to do the cleaning for them, so we should not be surprised when rats turn up.”
Staff in Stanmer Court said that the rats are attracted to the residence because students are leaving rubbish near but not in the bins provided.
A residence worker said “someone threw a full bin bag over the top of the bins and it almost hit my colleagues head as he was clearing up the rubbish.”
The University told The Badger that the railway premises adjacent to Stanmer Court has been known to have had rats previously and it is believed that the problem may have come from there. They have spoken to Southern Rail about this problem.
Wire wool has been used to block up the holes made by the rats, because they are supposedly afraid of wire wool.
One of the doors to Stanmer Court Block 3 is broken and currently does not close properly. This provides
easy access for rats that are looking for student food.
The University stressed that there has been a limited number of rat sightings and that the problem has been exaggerated.
Alex Hickson
