Schools
Bed Bug Found In Waukesha Elementary School, Not Infested: SDW
After a bed bug hitchhiked into a, school officials said that the presence of one bed bug doesn't mean an infestation.
WAUKESHA, WI — A single bed bug was found in a Waukesha elementary school classroom, the School District of Waukesha announced Tuesday.
The bug may have hitchhiked in someone's clothes or belongings when stepping into school, Lowell Elementary School principal Laurie Pogorzelski said in a letter to parents.
One creepy-crawlie's presence doesn't necessarily mean there's an infestation, but Pogorzelski said a pest control company would keep watch for an outbreak.
Find out what's happening in Waukeshafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
School staff set up bug traps and disinfected surfaces at Lowell, Pogorzelski said. If the school needs to take further measures to rid the school of bed bugs, parents would be told in the future.
"Luckily, the school setting isn't a friendly environment for bed bugs to live and reproduce, and
the risk of transferring bed bugs from person to person in a school still remains small," Pogorzelski said.
Find out what's happening in Waukeshafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Bed bugs are often found within 8 to 10 feet of a bed and feast primarily on people's blood, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. They're found across Wisconsin and can live for a while without eating blood.
Milwaukee ranked No. 32 for bed bug treatments in 2021 in a list compiled by Orkin, a pest control company. Chicago, Baltimore and Washington were the top three for cities with creepy crawlers.
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