This back-to-school scare brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “bugs in the system.”
A North Carolina high school had to tell students to return district-issued laptops after bedbugs were found crawling out of them. According to WRAL News.
The creepy bugs had infested Riverside High School's media center, where Google Chromebooks were stored over the summer, and were likely hiding out in the laptops handed out to students at freshman orientation ahead of the district's Aug. 26 start date.
Now, Durham Public Schools is reportedly asking parents to return electronic devices and urging families to check their homes for any debris.
“We understand this may cause concern, but please be assured we are taking every precaution to address this situation and prevent further occurrences,” Riverside Principal Gloria Woods Weeks said in an email to parents.
Administrators said the infected computers and the entire media center had been disinfected.
“We are working closely with pest control experts to implement additional preventative measures to prevent a recurrence.” School officials told CBS17.
Bedbugs are tiny brown insects about the size of an apple seed that are notoriously difficult to eradicate once they have established themselves in a particular area.
Contrary to their reputation, they do not actually harm their host.
Often they simply emerge at night to bite sleeping people, leaving red marks on the victim's body that resemble mosquito bites.
After being nearly eradicated in the mid-20th century, the pest has made a comeback and has since infested cities around the world. The most famous one is Paris, France.
“Bed bugs, like us, are incredibly efficient migrants.” National Pest Management Associationsaid USA Today Last year, humans evolved to travel the world. “Bedbugs evolved to travel with us.”
Ironically, three North Carolina cities — Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham — are on the list of the top 50 cities with serious pest control issues. A February report from Spectrum News 1.
