Bed bugs can be literally everywhere and they don’t stay away from schools either. While a school might not be the ideal place for them to breed and stay at, it is a great spot for them to spread to other places. These insects are incredibly good hitchhikers and they can easily find a more favorable place to stay at.
Although they don’t prefer staying in people’s clothes or hair, they can hop in any of the backpacks they can find in school. Then, all they need to do is wait and they are going to arrive to a typical household. The thing about schools is that people are pretty restless there.
- Related: What do Bed Bugs Look Like?
Since students, teachers and other staff don’t sleep there, bed bugs have much less opportunities to feed on their blood. This is why they are called bed bugs, as they mostly prefer beds where people spend hours without moving.
In this article, we are going to talk about how children can bring bed bugs home from school and what you can do about it.
Can My Child Bring Bed Bugs Home from School?
Bed bugs can be everywhere and there are groups of people coming in and out of schools on a daily basis. Not to mention the teachers and other people working there, as they can also bring bed bugs to school without even knowing it.
Although bed bugs don’t prefer hitchhiking in clothes or hair, they can hop in children’s backpacks. They are very good at hitchhiking and hiding, which makes it easy for them to spread. However, there are not many places to hide at in schools and people are quite restless there too.
- Related: How do You Get Bed Bugs?
This urges them to find a different spot as soon as possible, which is when they can hop in backpacks. They can stay there for quite a while in the hopes of arriving to a more preferable spot. The main goal of bed bugs is to invade households and look for the bedroom where they can hide and feed on a regular basis.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs from Coming Home from School?
If there is a bed bug problem at a school, there are a few things that can be done to prevent kids from taking them home. First off, plastic bags should be provided for children so that they can place their backpacks and other belongings in it. Also, they should avoid placing backpacks on the floor or on top of each other.
The next thing to do is to check the backpack before entering the house. All the items should be removed and inspected. Backpacks should not be kept near the bedroom in the house. It is best to keep them in plastic bags or some other closed container.
Also, once the school reports a bed bug problem, children should get rid of their clothes and place them in plastic bags after arriving home. Then, put the clothes in a drying machine and use it on a high setting.
Should Student be Excluded from School for Bed Bugs?
Schools should not exclude students for bringing bed bugs. There is no need to panic because these insects are not known to transmit any disease between humans. Instead, schools should be able to identify bed bugs with the help of their staff and take appropriate action.
Taking the right steps toward treating the infestation and providing care for students is crucial in these situations. The first important step is to let the child and his parents know that there is a bed bug problem so that they can check at home and exterminate the insects there.
What does Bed Bug Bites Look Like on a Child?
Bed bugs on a child look like red spots that are usually inflamed and sometimes even blistered. Children or adults might not realize right away that they were bitten. It can take up to two days for bed bug bites to start itching.
Moreover, not everyone reacts to the bites the same way so individual experiences might vary. Since bed bugs prefer to bite us while we are at rest, they tend to bite the areas that are exposed. These include neck, lower legs, hands, face and your lower arm.
They also prefer biting the same area multiple times instead of spreading. If you find an area with red dots grouped together on your child, then you can already suspect that there are bed bugs in your house.
How to Treat Bed Bug Bites on Child?
Once you notice bed bug bites on your child, make sure to wash the area right away using soap and water. As a result, the bites won’t be itchy and it also greatly reduces the risk of skin infection. In case the itching still persists, buy any cream that contains corticosteroid and apply it to the bites.
These types of creams can be bought at pretty much any local drugstore and there is no prescription needed. If treated the right way, bed bug bites are really not a big deal and the itching is going to go away rather quickly.
What is even more important is to guarantee that those bites won’t happen in the future by exterminating the bed bugs.
Can CPS Remove a Child Because of Bed Bugs?
CPS (Child Protective Services) can step in if there is a serious bed bug infestation in your house. If there are children in the house, they are constantly exposed to bed bug bites. Those bites can get infectious, which makes them a huge concern on the long term.
In that case, the CPS can provide assistance when it comes to the extermination of bed bugs. If the family in question lives in a rental property, then it is the code enforcement’s job to hold the landlord accountable for the infestation.
When bed bugs spread in big numbers in a house, it counts as a health hazard for children and it has to be dealt with as soon as possible.
