Bed Bugs in Schools

Way back in December (can you believe it’s March already?!) TE, a reader, posted the following comment:

Hi Allie - You mention you're going to post about precautions for people who visit bed bug-infested locations as part of their job. Could you say anything about schools? I am a teacher now and work in a huge NYC elementary school where many of our children live in bed bug-infested homes. We know the kids sometimes bring bed bugs into school with them, and there have been cases where teachers (and presumably other students) have then brought them home. Most teachers now keep their coats, sweaters and any backpacks/purses in those giant ziplock bags from the minute we arrive until the minute we leave. Many of us also avoid sitting on the carpets, though that is really impossible to avoid completely. I know one teacher who throws all her clothes into the dryer the minute she gets home - fearing bed bugs will hitchhike home on her clothes. Do you think these sorts of precautions are necessary? Effective? Enough? --an old Cornell acquaintance :)

Since this comment was posted I’ve been gathering resources on this topic. Spurred by media and an ever-growing interest in bed bugs, my colleagues involved in school IPM have created a number of valuable resources to address the issue. I’m going to keep this post fairly brief so that you can look over the resources I will share. They address all of TE’s questions and concerns—no need for me to reinvent the wheel.

• To set the stage for how NOT to deal with bed bugs in schools, I recommend Dr. Mike Merchant’s blog post on the topic. Dr. Merchant is involved in Texas school IPM. http://insectsinthecity.blogspot.com/2010/12/bed-bugs-go-to-school.html
  
  
• The short and sweet resource for addressing the questions about bed bug in schools is the Michigan Bed Bug Working Group’s factsheet. Don’t miss the fourth page—it’s a nice flow chart! http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_bugs_schools_293498_7.pdf
  
  
• The University of Florida is one of the School IPM information hubs. They manage a wonderful listserv. If you are intrigued by IPM in Schools, you may want to join. Sign up and see what their site has to say about bed bugs at: http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/Florida/bedbugpests.htm
  
  
• Dr. Dini Miller of Virginia Tech prepared great bed bug information for the Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, including a bed bug action plan for schools. http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/pdffiles/bb-schools1.pdf 

Although the School IPM movement is separate from what we are trying in housing, the two are linked through our nation’s most valuable resource—our children. In addition, both contexts rely on structural IPM principles. Much of what I do in housing, I have learned from school IPM procedures. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or property manager looking for model programs to adapt for your site, you should know a bit about school IPM.

There is a strategic plan to IPM programs in place in all U.S. schools by 2012. The strategic plan itself is an impressive document that includes details on IPM plans, policy, and resources. To learn more, visit www.schoolipm2015.com. To reach this goal, many IPM professionals have worked with schools to develop model programs that work. As in housing, budget, time, and personnel limitations are the reality in schools. Developed programs work—resulting in learning environments where children are at minimum risk of exposure to both pests and pesticides.

Before I leave you to your resource reading, I want to close by thanking TE for commenting! I have plenty of ideas for future posts, but if there is an issue you’re having that you’d like me to address, feel free to comment and ask. Or drop me a line at aat25@cornell.edu. I want to keep this blog as relevant as possible, and your comments help keep me on track!

Comments

[Gil Bloom @ Standard Pest Management]

In case you are interested in our school pdf here is a link:

www.standardpest.com/images/pdf/BedBugs_In_Schools.pdf

[joint pains]

these bed bugs are terrible and i got it and the whole body was down with itch!!!

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My brother suggested I might like this website. He was entirely right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!