Nest Of Shrews Causes Musty Smell At Fort Cherry School
MCDONALD, Pa. (AP) - These shrews haven't been tamed, but they have been located and blamed for the musty smell that plagued a western Pennsylvania high school for weeks.
Fort Cherry School District Superintendent Jill Jacoby even crawled through a trench under the Washington County high school - finding nothing - before a nest of shrews were found more than a week ago in the corner of a classroom, behind a furniture fixture.
The small, mole-like mammals have smelly saliva, which they use to paralyze and subdue their prey.
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Crews spent three weeks checking for mold, mildew or other causes of the musty smell before determining the animals got into the building through a small hole near a heating pipe.
Jacoby went public Wednesday to dispel rumors that the school was infested with rodents.
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