Abstract

Adverse housing conditions in homes and hostels are strongly associated with increased odds of both rodent and cockroach infestation. This study was designed to determine the species of rodents and cockroaches infesting university hostels, the extent of infestation and the methods of control practiced by students. Cockroaches and rodents were trapped using the Hercules mouse glue board. An average of 1.72 rats per room was collected. The number of rats caught from boys’ hostel (Unity campus) and girls’ hostel (Technical block) were significantly higher than those caught from the other hostel blocks (2 = 39.3, df = 4, P < 0.05). Three species of rodents were identified, Mus musculus (24.1%), Rattus norvegicus (34.0%) and Rattus rattus (41.9%). 502 cockroaches were caught from 142 (54.6%) of the hostel rooms inspected, and an average 3.53 cockroaches were caught from a room. Girls’ hostel technical block accounted for the highest cockroach infestation rate (32.3%) and this differs significantly from the other hostel blocks (2 = 11.4, df = 4, P < 0.05). This study shows that overcrowding, cooking in the hostel and refuse accumulation provide conducive breeding ground for cockroaches and rodents. The severe health implications arising from cockroach and rodent infestation justify the need to provide hygiene education to both students and hostel management staff to be able to link cockroach and rodent infestation to health and disease.

Key words: Cockroach, rodents, infestation, university hostels, Makurdi, Nigeria.