Bed bugs have been a problem for hotel owners, department stores, apartment complexes, homes, and now...
get ready for it...
schools.
Yep, these creepy, crawly nuisances have found their way into the public school system, starting with PS 188 in New York's Lower East Side, reports NBC New York.
At least one parent reported that her young child came home from school with bite marks on her neck.
Right around that time, children were sent home with letters to their parents, notifying them of confirmed sightings at the school.
The parent searched her home and found the bugs had traveled with her child home, or at least that's what is suspected.
School officials confirmed that PS 188 was indeed infested with bed bugs, and exterminators came to mitigate the problem.
Unfortunately, the chemical sprays specifically designed to get rid of bed bugs cannot be used in classrooms where children are, so workers had to make-do with vacuuming and cleaning with products that meet approval.
A Department of Education spokesperson, Margie Feinberg says that these pests were brought in from the outside in bags and on clothing, and are transferred away from the school, into homes, with bags and clothing.
Feinberg also says that while the bugs are a nuisance and very, very difficult to get rid of, they do not carry diseases.
That's little comfort to parents, not just in New York, but all over the country.
Kids can easily bring these pests to school with them on their t-shirts, their sweatshirts, or their back packs.
Then they set their backpacks down, lay down during nap time, and the bugs move everywhere, potentially biting other children and continuing to spread.
Because of this, parents in the school district are threatening to keep their children home from school if the problems continue.
PS 188 in New York isn't the only school that's struggling with this same issue.
According to WAVY, in Portsmouth, West Virginia Norcom Elementary and Lakeview Elementary were treated for the problem.
At nearby I.
C.
Norcom High School in Portsmouth, two high school students came to school with bites.
The two students said they had gotten the bites from the home they were staying at.
Students at the school were subsequently ordered to place their belongings in plastic bags.
Boxes labeled "bed bug kits" were sent to their classrooms.
Conflicting reports have emerged as to whether bed bugs were, in fact, actually detected at the school.
get ready for it...
schools.
Yep, these creepy, crawly nuisances have found their way into the public school system, starting with PS 188 in New York's Lower East Side, reports NBC New York.
At least one parent reported that her young child came home from school with bite marks on her neck.
Right around that time, children were sent home with letters to their parents, notifying them of confirmed sightings at the school.
The parent searched her home and found the bugs had traveled with her child home, or at least that's what is suspected.
School officials confirmed that PS 188 was indeed infested with bed bugs, and exterminators came to mitigate the problem.
Unfortunately, the chemical sprays specifically designed to get rid of bed bugs cannot be used in classrooms where children are, so workers had to make-do with vacuuming and cleaning with products that meet approval.
A Department of Education spokesperson, Margie Feinberg says that these pests were brought in from the outside in bags and on clothing, and are transferred away from the school, into homes, with bags and clothing.
Feinberg also says that while the bugs are a nuisance and very, very difficult to get rid of, they do not carry diseases.
That's little comfort to parents, not just in New York, but all over the country.
Kids can easily bring these pests to school with them on their t-shirts, their sweatshirts, or their back packs.
Then they set their backpacks down, lay down during nap time, and the bugs move everywhere, potentially biting other children and continuing to spread.
Because of this, parents in the school district are threatening to keep their children home from school if the problems continue.
PS 188 in New York isn't the only school that's struggling with this same issue.
According to WAVY, in Portsmouth, West Virginia Norcom Elementary and Lakeview Elementary were treated for the problem.
At nearby I.
C.
Norcom High School in Portsmouth, two high school students came to school with bites.
The two students said they had gotten the bites from the home they were staying at.
Students at the school were subsequently ordered to place their belongings in plastic bags.
Boxes labeled "bed bug kits" were sent to their classrooms.
Conflicting reports have emerged as to whether bed bugs were, in fact, actually detected at the school.