College of Charleston Closes Another Campus Restaurant Due Rats and Honeybees [VIDEO]

Pest issues at the College of Charleston have closed another campus dining facility. The college sent out an email to students and employees on Tuesday informing them about the issue. Director of Environmental Health and Safety, Randy Beaver, said that the City Bistro closed at 5 p.m. and would be closed temporarily to address the issues.

Beaver added that the college has been undertaking several repairs to dining facilities on campus. Physical plant staff and the College's pest control vendor needed additional access and time on Wednesday evening to complete intrusion control measures.

City Bistro opened in October 2011 and is located at the corner of Calhoun and St. Philip streets. It shares a building with Chick-fil-A, which also closed last week to address the same rodent issue.

CofC officials have confirmed the rodents are mice and rats. Rat sighting downtown and on campus were nothing new to students.

During the operation workers discovered several thousand honeybees had built a hive in a brick wall near an exit of the Glenn McConnell Residence Hall on Wentworth Street. Around midday Tuesday, CofC work crews, Creature Catchers employees and an intrepid beekeeper named Cindy Buntan carefully removed the hive and relocated it to a bee farm. No students were displaced during the operation according to The Post And Courier.

A former manager at City Bistro, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the rats have been an issue on campus restaurants for the past eight years. CofC officials said crews are repairing the intrusion points in both restaurants and that the increased rodent activity may be related to the major floods the past few years.

They plan to re-open City bistro and Chick-fil-A by Friday morning. All other campus dining facilities still remain open on a regular schedule.

Students and employees are encouraged to report any rodent sightings, and to deter rodents by keeping their homes clean and securely storing food. People can report rodent activity by calling 843-953-5550, or by e-mailing physicalplanthelp@cofc.edu according to ABC News 4.