WATERTOWN — There was talk of a bed bug at Watertown High School online and over the air Monday, but in response to calls from parents, the school district would not confirm if any of it was true.
Instead, Superintendent Patricia B. LaBarr sent a notice responding to an influx of calls from concerned parents to say that there is a protocol for handling situations where bed bugs are discovered.
Bed bugs are small, flat, wingless insects that are reddish brown, according to the New York State Department of Health. They are about a quarter of an inch long before feeding. That’s about the size of an apple seed. During the day, the beetles hide in mattress seams and in cracks and crevices. They come out at night. They feed on blood but are not known to transmit disease to humans, according to the health department.
Around lunchtime, an unidentified caller dialed into former Mayor Jeff Graham’s radio show, The Hotline, and said bugs had been found in the Watertown High School auditorium and no one was doing anything about it. Similar comments flooded social media sites.
“The district has received many calls today regarding bed bugs due to social media and media posts,” the superintendent explained, which was emailed to parents at 3:31 p.m. “While the District cannot respond to all media/social media claims, we are responding to the volume of calls received today.”
Ms. LaBarr did not respond to questions Monday afternoon, but comments on social media suggested a number of parents and guardians called the district and received little to no information about the possible situation, prompting some to take their students to at least the Rest from school to draw the day if not longer.
Social media reports suggested the bugs were in the high school’s auditorium, where some students are having lunch.
“The Watertown City School District has developed a protocol for handling situations where bed bugs are found or suspected in any of the district’s buildings, either on a student and his or her belongings or in the facility itself,” the release reads. “The District places a high priority on the health and safety of students, and this includes the emotional safety of students who may be vulnerable to bed bugs on their bodies and/or property.”
Ms. LaBarr explained that bed bug infestations are not common in schools and, when found in schools, originate from another location by “hitchhiking” a person or their belongings to the building after the person encounters them elsewhere.
If a single bed bug is found, there is no suspicion of infestation, the district said. If a lone bug is found, collect it with tape or a plastic bag. The Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds would be assigned to confirm that the bug was a bed bug. The district would try to find a source, but no further action is listed.
If a student is found to have a bed bug and there is no suspicion of an infestation, the student will be discreetly removed from the classroom and taken to the nurse’s office. Parents or guardians will be called and given instructions on what to do next. The bed bug would be collected and the student and his belongings would be inspected. The Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds was called again to identify the error. If no more are found, the student returns to class, but must report to the nurse’s office for five days to have clothing and belongings checked.
If the student agrees, they will be given a makeshift change of clothes and their clothes will be placed in a high temperature dryer for 30 minutes.
After five consecutive days of being free of bugs on his person and property, the student is no longer required to report to the nurse’s office upon arrival at school.
If an infestation is suspected, the district will “discreetly isolate” the location, and if students were at the location where bed bugs are suspected, they will be escorted individually or in small groups to the nurse’s office for examination. The Supervisor of Buildings & Grounds will be contacted so that an integrated pest control protocol can be implemented immediately and parents and guardians of students who have been screened will be contacted to inform them of the possible presence of a bed bug and that their child has been screened.
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