How Bed Bugs Spread In School

Here are a few ways a bed bug might go from one student to the next, or from a teacher to a student:

• If a batch of eggs hatch in a transportable item that has been brought into a school, those newly hatched nymphs can get into the belongings of your children.
• If a batch of eggs is attached to a sweater or shirt, children can share these eggs when they come into contact with each other.
• If bed bug nymphs or adults are carried in, they can crawl from one item to the next. This is likely to happen in a dark location.
• Since children share close spaces at school, it is possible for bed bugs to use a school as a way to spread from home to home, but it is more likely that kids will pick bed bugs up when they go to a friend's house.

When Bed Bugs Appear At School

Your student's school should have a Pest Management Professional (PMP) who oversees an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan to protect the school from pest threats. This plan should include educating faculty, staff, parents, and also students. It is important that everyone knows how to identify these bugs and what to do when they see them. It is especially important that any child found with bed bugs be protected from being made to feel as if they are dirty because they have these bugs. Bed bugs are not drawn to dirt or bacteria. They are drawn to blood. They can establish themselves in the cleanest of homes.

The PMP will apply bed bug treatment measures when these insects appear. This may include the use of targeted EPA-approved insecticides or heat remediation. These treatments should be followed up by a detailed inspection, preferably with K-9 bed bug detectors.