W-B school sprayed for bed bugs

Authorities take action at a learning pod when a lone insect is
discovered at Kistler Elementary.

By Matt Hughes
mhughes@timesleader.com
Staff Writer   |   Matt Hughes on Facebook   |  
@TLMattHughes on Twitter^[1][2][3][4]

WILKES-BARRE – Fifth-graders at Kistler Elementary School on
Thursday discovered an uninvited guest: a bed bug.

click image to enlarge

Bed bugs, like this one, feed on human blood and often live
in mattresses.

AP FILE PHOTO

According to Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Jeffrey Namey, a
single bed bug was found on the floor of a fifth-grade
classroom Thursday. Students were removed from the classroom,
their parents were contacted and an extermination company was
brought in, Namey said.

The exterminators did not find any additional bed bugs, but at
their recommendation, the entire fifth-grade pod, a total of
five classrooms, was sprayed for the bugs Friday evening, Namey
said.

“We have expanded it beyond the scope of the original problem,”
Namey said, adding that exterminators will also do a follow-up
inspection following spraying.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed on human blood and
often take up residence in mattresses. They can travel in
clothing and luggage, and once a home or other structure has
become infested they can be difficult and expensive to
exterminate.

Namey said Thursday was the first time a bed bug had been
discovered in a Wilkes-Barre Area school.

“We know it’s a serious issue,” he said. “Just like lice.
Sometimes a kid comes in with lice in their hair; we take it
very seriously, and we’re taking this very, very seriously.”

At least one parent believes the district isn’t taking the
issue seriously enough, though.

David Strouse, whose son is a third-grader at Kistler, said he
is upset the district did not inform all parents about the
insect, but only contacted parents of children in the classroom
where it was found. Parents may not have sent their children to
school Friday had they known about the bug, he said.

He also believes the district should spray the entire school
for bed bugs.

“(Bed bugs) are extremely hard to get rid of and they could
cause a lot of problems for people who quite frankly can’t
afford it,” Strouse said.

Namey said the district acted on the advice of the
exterminators, and informed parents of children in the
classroom, who may have had contact with bed bugs, to wash
their children’s clothing in hot water.

“If there’s a need to do the whole building, the whole building
will be done,” Namey said. “…We listen to what the
professionals say, and this was the advice that we got from
professionals.”

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References

1. ^{^} Matt Hughes
   (www.timesleader.com)
2. ^{^} mhughes@timesleader.com
   (www.timesleader.com)
3. ^{^} Matt Hughes on Facebook
   (www.facebook.com)
4. ^{^} @TLMattHughes on Twitter
   (www.twitter.com)