In February, UMass Boston changed its pest control contractor. Dorothy Reneghan, assistant vice chancellor for facilities management, said the university switched to Waltham Pest Control because the previous contractor, Watch All Pest Control, “decided not to renew their contract [with the state].” She explained that pest control companies providing services to state institutions such as UMass are required to submit their credentials to the state regulatory office for a contract, so the switch was unavoidable.

Reneghan said, “There has been no dramatic change” since the pest control vendor began, but added, “It’s too soon to tell.” Japheth Stevens, associate director of events and services, on the other hand, has noticed a marked improvement. He said, “I would say in the Campus Center we’ve seen a big change, a positive change, with the number of sightings.”

Reneghan noted that the Facilities Department’s goal for pest management is to reduce the campus pest population to the barest minimum. She believes that unhygienic practices such as inadequate clean-up of spilled food could be linked to the pest sightings.

As far as the effect the ongoing construction of the Integrated Science Complex might have on the pest population, she said, “They perform their own pest services on the site through the use of bait boxes. The construction contractor is responsible for pest control on the construction site, but they must abide by the specifications which the facilities department lays out. ”