Rodents, Buffalo Grove High in continual battle

Before you grab an umbrella and leap onto the nearest chair, Buffalo Grove High School Principal Patrice Johannes would like to remind you that mice have always been a part of the school.

"The school was built on fields," Johannes said. "Really, the mice were here first. This isn't new."

An exterminator visits the school weekly and sets out traps. Typically, about 25 mice are caught at the school annually, Johannes said.

While mice are nothing new, the school did toughen food rules this year to try to lessen the problem. All food is prohibited from classrooms and school resource areas.

From time to time, teachers and students used to bring in food for class parties and sometimes they'd leave the food overnight, Johannes said.

"That wasn't helping," she said.

Field mice are tiny and come from the athletic fields. They're so small, they sneak under doors and creep into the school's walls and ceilings, Johannes said.

"The mice have no solid bone structure and just slip right in," she said.

Students have seen the mice and sometimes try to catch them, but they're not causing a widespread panic.

"Kids are funny," she said. "Sometimes they try and catch the mice with their hands."

When temperatures drop, the outside food options for mice dry up, so more are seen in the high school, Johannes said

"Winter -- that's when we catch them big time," she said.

No mice have been spotted in the school's cafeteria, Johannes added.

Despite the new rule, Johannes predicts Buffalo Grove High School will never be totally free of the pesky rodent.

"We're not going to eliminate the problem," she said. "We just want to stay on top of it. Mice have been here for a while. They're everywhere in nearby neighborhoods, too."