8432A - BED BUG RESPONSE
Bed bugs are spreading rapidly within the United States. Contact with bed bugs can occur anywhere, even at schools. It is important for schools to be informed about how to prevent a bed bug infestation and how to address the detection of bed bugs.
Since bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, students should not be excluded from school due to bed bugs. These guidelines should be followed with the student's dignity in mind.
Collect a Specimen for Identification
Collect a specimen using transparent tape. Tape the specimen(s) to a piece of white paper. Multiple specimens, if available, can be very helpful in identification of the insect.
Dispose of additional bed bugs found by placing them in a tightly sealed bag and discarding the bag in an outdoor trash receptacle or dumpster. VERY IMPORTANT: If a specimen is found on a student or the student's belongings, remove the specimen as instructed below, but do not send the student home. The parent(s) should be notified if the specimen is a confirmed bed bug.
Contact the Facilities Office and report the sighting and collection of a specimen.
Care for the Student
Discreetly remove the student from the classroom so the school nurse or a qualified individual can perform an inspection of the student's clothing and belongings, including shoes, jackets, hats, books, backpacks, school supplies, etc.
Place any of the student's items that may not be essential to the school day, such as book bags and coats, into a large plastic bag and tightly seal the bag.
Check areas where the student sits or where the student's belongings may have been placed for extended periods of time. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers and can be found on various surfaces in many different locations.
Take measures to minimize the amount of attention drawn to the student.
Bed Bug Specimen Identification and Investigation
The Facilities Office will send trained staff and/or a pest management contractor to the affected area to identify the collected specimen and investigate for the source of the bed bugs.
The investigator will check student materials brought from their home and will check the classroom or area where the bed bug was initially sighted.
The investigator will determine if the bed bugs where brought to the school or if an infestation resides at the school.
Positive Identification of Bed Bugs: What to do Next
If the bed bug was found directly on a student or the student's belongings, the school administration or nurse should make direct contact with the student's parent or guardian and provide the following information:
Contact the parent or guardian by telephone and inform them that bed bugs were discovered in their child or on their child's materials.
Send home with the child the inspection report and bed bug educational materials.
Bag all of the student's materials that may be suspected of containing bed bugs.
Treating an Infestation
If it is determined that an infestation is present at the school we will treat the area following our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program policy and guidelines.
In addition to following an IPM program, we will incorporate the following vacuuming procedures.
Vacuum areas where bed bugs are found during the normal after-school cleaning schedule. Make sure floor and baseboards are included.
Sprinkle about one-fourth (1/4) to one-half (1/2) cup of talcum powder on the last section of floor to be vacuumed. The talc will help dry out and kill bed bugs in the bag or cup.
Carefully remove the vacuum bag or contents of the bag-free vacuum container and place it in a tightly sealed plastic garbage bag for disposal.
Dispose of the sealed bag in an outdoor trash can.
Do not use the same vacuum bag in uninfested areas.
To help minimize the potential transfer of bed bugs or their eggs from one student's belongings to another, it is recommended to store each student's items (coat, backpack, lunch bag, etc.) separate from those of their classmates or in individual plastic containers labeled with the students' names. Coats hung next to each other and lunch bags stored together in a common container provide bed bugs an opportunity to relocate and to be transported home with an unknowing student.