Bedbugs First

Stories of schools infested with and/or dealing with bedbug "incidents" are beginning to accumulate.

The NYCDOE refuses to reveal which schools have had confirmed cases of bedbugs, so all we can go on, unfortunately, is speculation.

Has your school had any bedbug cases? If so, how was the case (or cases) dealt with?

Or do you know of other schools that have had cases? If so, do you know how they are dealing with them?

The last news story I saw about bedbugs and NYC schools was this one in the Daily News from November 10, 2010.

In the story, the DOE spokesperson insists that the NYCDOE does not have an infestation problem despite confirmed bedbug incidents rising in the first two months of the year from 135 last year to 336 this year.

That's more than double the cases.

Last year there were 1,019 cases in NYC schools.

This year, the DOE is on track over 2,000 cases of bedbugs.

Yet the DOE still insists there are no infestation problems because schools do not have beds.

Yeah - that's what they said.

But the protocol they use to identify and treat schools - they send the bug away for two weeks for a test - helps bedbugs spread.

By the time the DOE confirms whether the bug in question is a bedbug or not, that little bugger can have laid a bunch of eggs and bred more bedbugs.

Why doesn't the DOE deal with the bedbug problem more quickly?

Why doesn't the DOE acknowledge schools have a bedbug problem?

And why doesn't the DOE release a list of which schools have had confirmed cases of bedbugs?

Until Bloomberg and Chancellor Black come clean on this epidemic, you should assume your school indeed does have bedbugs.

You should take precautions like the ones detailed in the Daily News story - including placing your coat and other items in a large ziploc bag that can be closed and secured to keep bedbugs from climbing into your stuff.

You should keep an eye open for a sign of bugs in your classroom, your office or your locker.

Examine yourself for bites - the telltale signs are three or more bites in a row.

And if you find a bedbug or signs of bites while you are at school, you should immediately tell your administrator, you should follow up on how they are handling the circumstances and then you should go down to Cathie Black's office and shake a few bedbugs around Tweed.

Then head over to City Hall and do the same, if you can get in,

Until the Tweedocrats and Bloomberg's blunderers start dealing with bedbugs themselves, they don't seem to be all that concerned about the problems in schools.

Clearly when it comes to the bedbug situation in schools, the mayor's slogan is "Bedbugs First, Children and Teachers Last!"