Schools Risk Bed Bug Problem
Because of the rise of the bed bug epidemic researchers and public health officials are concerned that the little unwanted bugs are going to spread through schools. Why? Because the little brown bugs can easily get transported from home to school on children’s clothes and their backpacks. They can also be transported to other homes this way and therefore cause even more bed bug infestations. Jennifer Smith Richards wrote an article for The Columbus Dispatch called “Schools Risk Bed Bug Problems.” According to Richards two different schools in Franklin County (Ohio) have had bed bug sightings and contacted the public health department.
Schools are often notoriously known for having head lice problems which can be difficult to get rid of but bed bugs are even harder to exterminate in schools. Why? According to Susan C. Jones, an urban entomologist at Ohio State University, you know where to look when it comes to head lice. But bed bugs? They could be anywhere and everywhere. They can also be transported easily to other places and thus the infestation gets even worse. Bed bugs are often called “hitchhikers” because of this. Schools sometimes need to be closed down and fumigated and health departments don’t want that to happen.
Last year a school in Kentucky was closed down because of bed bugs and the problem is only getting worse. Both parents and school officials are concerned and worried about this problem. They want to know what they can do to help. According to Greg Kesterman, director of the environmental health division for Hamilton County Public Health, you’re guaranteed to see bed bugs show up in public facilities because they are able to crawl on and travel with a person. And this is the case with any type of insect that has these capabilities. The important thing is to notice and catch the problem before it becomes too big.
In the 1950’s harsh pesticides were used to kill and take care of bed bug problems but now these pesticides are banned. The result? Bed begs are back and in full force. They are everywhere! They’ve been brought back with travelers and are found in homes, schools, dorm rooms, apartment complexes, businesses, hotels and many other places. The Franklin County Board of Health established a central Ohio bedbug task force with intentions to keep an eye on the bed bug population. They also plan to discuss how to handle complaints and inform the public. The board hopes that other districts will see what they are doing and join to help with the situation. Their ultimate goal is that all schools in the district will have workable tools that all schools can use, whether private or public.
The school nurses in Columbus schools are also prepared to look out for bugs and report any seen. They also are prepared to talk with families and students if any are found. If bed bugs are found during the school day on a backpack or clothing item one easy thing that can be done is to seal the backpack or clothing in a plastic bag. In general, officials don’t believe that students should be banned from school if a bed bug is spotted on them or their belongings.
Many agree that the health department should be more involved, they tend to stand back because bed bugs aren’t considered to be a health hazard, but it may be too late when the bed bug problem has exploded.
Full article found here:
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/30/bugsinschools.ART_ART_11-30-08_B1_GAC31J2.html?sid=101
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Every day I strive to keep everything tidy and organized. With 2 children and another one on the way in the next month or so, it is my job to keep everything in order. I am living on social services…It took so long to inquire the items in my household.
Just settling in a few months ago I had planned to stay at my apartment for a few years to come.
Truthfully I have changed my mind…quickly…I don’t even have to think twice. Every minute matters now because I have realized we have been sharing our home with bedbugs.
So over the last week I have been spending my days throwing out all our carpeting and furniture, curtains, stuffed animals, clothing, everything.
I had spent the time washing and drying blankets, sheets and pillows so fresh ones could be used for each sleeping session. I have been investigating the lives of the creatures and investigating all the mattresses that I have now also disposed of. As of last night when my four year old woke up itchy at 4 am the beds and cribs have been disassembled sitting in their now almost bare bedrooms. I dunno what to do…my life has been turned upside down…nobody around me really knows how I am feeling but I am frustrated, angry , mad, and sad all at the same time. I am starting to get depressed…How will I get new furniture and beds, and should I actually bring a newborn baby in a bedbug infested environment? I can’t even purchase the new baby’s items fearing that they could become infested too. Should I send my daughter to school knowing I could contaminate another family or admit in embarrassment that “we have bedbugs”
What a mess this is becoming, I will never forget this.
I was concerned about my school as well as myself. my school has a bed bug infestation because of what i found last week in class. i was at my table when i found a bedbug crawling on the desk i immediately killed it and blood came out of it. it was small so there must be more. what can i do? i already advised some teachers and students as well as my principal but have not done anything? what should i do?
Bedbugs have NOTHING to do with being dirty, do the research before calling people dirty especially a child it wouldn’t even be her fault. Also its not fair that anyone gets them, they are so easily spread that it could come from anywhere, the child who has it got it from someone else and so on. Its nobody’s fault. I’ve never had them but I’ve done a project on it for school and like I said ITS NOT FROM BEING DIRTY, bed bugs are not concerned about messes or food just human blood.
I have bed bugs in my school and no one is helping us! The child has them at home while the mother and grandma are not doing a thing about the infestation!
The department of education is not helping the teacher and the child either. It’s not fair that the other children get them because of someone else.
My daughter has at friend at school i knew she was kinda of dirty, at my daughters birthday we went swimming and i noticed that her whole body was covered with bite marks old and new!
Today my daughter was telling me that another girl saw on this girls backpack at school a bedbug. Should she be coming to school? Should the classroom be cleaned out? What should i do as a parent that doesn’t want them in my house?