With each passing day, more and more schools across the United States are reporting encounters with bed bugs. It is inevitable really. Bed bugs can be found wherever you find people. Because they are masters at hitchhiking, a child’s backpack, coat, hat, gloves, or clothing are perfect transportation vehicles for bed bugs to hitch a ride into any school system. Unlike lice, bed bugs do not intend to stay attached to their victim. Humans are in fact just a mode of transportation and a nightly meal for the bloodsuckers.
So the question remains, should parents be worried about bed bugs in the school system? Many school administrators would like parents to believe that bed bugs that are transported into a school via a child’s belongings or clothing will not cause an infestation in a school. Parents are often told that schools are not hospitable environments for bed bug infestations.
The fact is that schools can be infested with bed bugs at any moment in time. Schools provide ample hiding places for bed bugs to hide and an endless amount of human blood sources to nibble upon if they so choose. Bed bugs are typically nocturnal pests, but if they are hungry enough, they will indeed strike during the daytime hours to receive their blood meal.
Dayton Daily News reported on February 9, 2012 that an elementary school found bed bugs on two different students. The parents of the affected children were not notified of the bed bugs being found on their children until two weeks after the critters were found. During that time, it is likely that the children continued to attend the school in question. You may read the article here.
The schools protocol is to not notify the entirety of the parents unless bed bugs are found in the school environment. Because of the delay in notifying the parents of the children who had the bed bugs on their person, it is highly likely that additional bed bugs were transferred into the school. It is also extremely possible that another child or children accidently brought the hitchhikers to their home, thereby expanding the infestation within the school community.
Parents must be on the constant lookout for bed bugs when they have children in any school system. Schools should adopt a full disclosure policy when it comes to bed bugs so that everyone can be on the look-out for the bloodsuckers and prepared in case their children accidentally bring them home. New Jersey pest control professionals recommend that you contact a licensed pest control expert at the first sign of bed bugs in your home.