The facility's maintenance director acknowledged that Resident 2 had repeatedly complained to him about mice in her room. He told inspectors that Guardian Pest Control was scheduled to visit weekly but had informed him they were out of bait and would come "later this week."
During the January 29 inspection, a physical therapy assistant showed investigators a broken bed stacked with old wheelchair parts, cushions and bags of unknown items. She told inspectors she had observed a resident storing food in the bed and had seen mouse droppings there.
The maintenance director explained that mice entered the older building because residents went in and out to smoke, and the facility was located in a wooded area surrounded by apartments. He said Guardian Pest Control typically visited monthly, and he had requested additional visits the previous week for more bait around the building.
The facility administrator, who described himself as new to the position, said Guardian was supposed to provide pest control products the day before the inspection but had run out of supplies. He praised the maintenance director for "patching windows" and "adding extra traps" but acknowledged not knowing the complete details of the pest control contract.
Guardian's service technician called inspectors back the following day, explaining he was headed to the facility with concerns about "clutter in the facility rooms and hallways." He confirmed monthly visits and emergency calls but said he had been unable to complete the planned treatment due to lack of supplies.
The dietary manager told inspectors the facility "does have a mouse problem and feels they need to be more proactive with treating them and doing more." While she hadn't personally seen mice in the kitchen, staff had informed her they trapped them in live traps under the three-compartment sink. She said all kitchen food was stored in containers and no mouse droppings had been observed in food areas.
During his January 30 visit, the Guardian technician provided the administrator with specific recommendations to address the mouse activity. His list included fixing door sweeps with gaps, decluttering rooms "as best as possible," ensuring daily trash removal from common areas and rooms, and cleaning up food debris and crumbs immediately.
He specifically noted that any food left in rooms needed sealed containers, the same standard applied to the kitchen. The technician flagged the physical therapy common area, which had "a lot of old parts in a corner" where residents had been "reported of having residents hiding food in it."
His recommendations also included fixing open holes in walls, particularly around pipe fittings, and ensuring mouse droppings were cleaned up immediately upon discovery.
The facility's own pest control policy, dated May 2008, required maintaining an "on-going pest control program to ensure the building was kept free of insects and rodents." The policy mandated that all pest control chemicals be stored away from food areas and that garbage not be permitted to accumulate, with daily removal from the facility.
Federal inspectors documented the violations affected "many" residents, though they classified the harm level as "minimal harm or potential for actual harm."
The inspection revealed a facility struggling with basic environmental controls despite having professional pest control services and written policies. Residents continued living with mice in their rooms while the pest control company ran short on supplies and recommended addressing clutter and food storage practices that had apparently persisted for months.
Resident 2's ongoing complaints to the maintenance director illustrated the daily reality for people living in the facility, where broken beds doubled as storage areas for unusable equipment and residents hid food in spaces already contaminated with mouse droppings.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for The Estates At Fridley LLC from 2026-01-29 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.