Mice Infestation Closed Prairie Home Cemetery

WAUKESHA, WI— The Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha closed in February to deal with a major mice infestation inside the main building, including the chapel and offices, at 605 S. Prairie Ave.

The main building has been closed to the public since new cemetery Director Lee Kelley noticed the problem. The mice infestation issue is already under control, and plans are to reopen the chapel in early May.

Kelley sent a confidential memorandum to the Common Council on March 16. Waukesha City Administrator Kevin Lahner sent a copy to Patch Thursday.

The infestation consisted of mice and other rodents or larger animals, the memo said. The infestation directly posed an unsafe work environment for the staff.

Mice infested the entire building, including furniture, file cabinets and walls, Lahner told Patch. Exterminators had provided services at the cemetery in the past, but not enough to control the situation, Lahner said.

Lahner's theory is that the infestation grew because the main building closed during the pandemic. Many cemetery staff members worked from home and weren't around to notice the mice. He added the winter months and a lack of control led to the mice taking over the building.

Mice entered the attic, which was the hardest hit area. Pest control personnel don't normally go into attics because of liability issues, Lahner said.

Now that the staff has gained control over the main areas of the building, a contractor will be hired to deal with the attic. Work will include sealing all areas where mice are entering.

"We are going to spend roughly $41,000 to fix the issues, clean and sanitize," Lahner said. The funds will come from savings from other projects and additional city revenue.

"It also has been determined by a specialized cleaning company that there has been cross contamination throughout the building to include many of the cemetery records," Kelley's memo said. "In addition, dead mice have been located the interior walls of the building. Once the building has been emptied in its entirety a full evaluation of current and archived cemetery records will be evaluated,"

Staff were concerned about the continued marketing of the cemetery and asked to keep the information confidential, the memo said. "Initially we were trying to understand the scope of the problem. We didn't think it would be good public relations while trying to figure out what was going on," he told Patch.