It’s a zoo in here.

Everyone knows New York City living isn’t exactly glamorous all the time, especially living in a college dorm. Encountering some form of a rodent or bug in your living space is inevitable. In the two years I’ve spent living in 600 W. 166th St, I’ve encountered many. So, I decided to compile a list of my least-to-most favorite rodents, bugs, and other animals that my roommates, neighbors, and I have all at minimum seen, at most battled with.

#8: Cockroaches

Definitely my least favorite. Extremely gross, majorly unwelcome, and the worst to have to kill. And of course, because this is NYC, they tend to be very, very large. Stay away from me, please and thank you. In a show of overwhelming chivalry, my suitemate’s boyfriend has volunteered to kill for us if we ever see one. Unfortunately for him, this meant walking ten blocks from his apartment at midnight.

#7: House Flies

These are ranked so low because they followed me from my family’s house all the way to my dorm. WHY are they everywhere, and how come they always find a way back inside? Although a very generic pest, I strongly dislike them buzzing around me while I try to eat, study, or sleep. One is flying past my head as I write.

#6: Fruit Flies

They come from the sink, they come from the drain, they come from any source of moisture in your apartment and multiply before your eyes. Tiny, but oh so annoying. However, I have learned a very easy method of creating a fly trap that has now saved me from these tiny nuisances.

#5: Ladybugs

Only ranked so low because I have better ones coming. They’re arguably beautiful and tend to be very chill. Don’t mind them, just wish they would exit the indoors of 600.

#4: Baby Centipede

The only way to describe it is as a speed demon that blends in with the wood floors and crown molding (600’s pride and joy!). This baby was STRONG. We trapped it under a plastic cup, but it was so determined to escape and terrorize the rest of 600 that it pushed that plastic cup halfway across out kitchen floor in the time it took us to grab a paper to slip under the cup. One of my very brave suitemates saved it and deposited it out our window. I hope baby centipede survives the streets of New York. I’d probably be okay with it showing up in our kitchen again just because of how impressed I was by its pace. I do wonder if this is a reincarnation of the centipede from last year.

#3: Extremely Large Centipede

If anyone remembers the article Three Girls Versus One Centipede, that is the centipede I am referring to. I still am traumatized from the sheer length and number of legs it had. The pictures do not do its size justice. It did, in fact, take three girls to kill it, alongside bleach, a mop, and what was probably the entirety of 600’s water tank. Top three bug encounters in 600. I will never, ever forget it, providing nightmare fuel long beyond graduation. Not one of my favorite neighbors, but one with the most aura.

#2: Bird

Now, you may be asking yourselves – what do you mean by bird? This is my warning to everyone: do NOT leave your windows open so wide that a bird can fly in and make itself at home in your bathroom during the holidays when everyone is gone. Imagine coming back to your dorm after three days at home celebrating the High Holidays with your family to a bathroom covered in bird poop, with said bird chilling in your shower. How my friends got this bird out, I cannot say. Maybe they’re bird whisperers? Not fun in the moment you open your bathroom door, but definitely a fun story to tell!

#1: Mouse (Patricia)

Our seventh roommate, our best friend, the super-awesome and very smart mouse that inhabited my sophomore year apartment for about six months and would not leave no matter what we did. After a few encounters, we just decided to accept her presence and adopt her as our own. Screaming from the kitchen at 1 am? Oh, never mind, it’s just Patricia. We said she must be a Barnard girlie because of how smart she was, figuring out how to avoid all of our mouse traps. Having since upgraded to a much nicer apartment, I haven’t seen her since. I would like to keep it that way, but I’ll never forget our queen Patricia.

Honorable Mention: Dogs!

Since 600 is home to both Barnard students and staff, there are quite a few non-student apartments with dogs. It becomes the highlight of my day to step into the elevator with any of those cuties, or to pet them in the lobby before heading to class.

In conclusion, I should probably just hire an exterminator.

600 via Bwarchives