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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.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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