Bedbugs in Schools

One thing that will need to be realized with the current bed bug epidemic is the fact that bedbugs are not just going to be found in flea bag motels. Bed bugs can be picked up in 5 star hotels, public transportation, cruise ships, airplanes, movie theaters, and schools. Bedbugs are parasites and unlike roaches that scatter when you come into the room and turn on the lights, bedbugs will run toward you. Unfortunately the problem is very wide spread and one tool that is probably most important that we can all use is education. We need to educate hotel workers, apartment building staff, hospitals, and teachers about what to look for and how to react when they see signs of bedbugs, whether they be live bugs or bite marks. We need to educate the public as well. Think about how easily a problem could spread if one child brings a book bag from an infested apartment complex to school for an entire school year and how the bedbugs that have hitch hiked in that bag everyday spreads to all the other bags and classrooms. Now these students and teachers are bringing them home. The bite marks that the students are presenting with are being blamed on bites from home, when they are actually from the school. A vicious circle begins. Same with any place else. You can treat someplace with an atom bomb if you wanted to but if you kept bringing those bedbugs back into your home from another source you are just setting yourself up for failure. The bedbug epidemic is going to get worse before it gets better, there is no doubt about that, but with the proper education and helping to raise awareness about these insects with the public rather then trying to hide the facts, I think we will be able to get a better hold of the situation.