Bed bugs are being called the new lice, sending New Jersey school administrators and parents into panic mode. McKenzie and Faust elementary schools in East Rutherford, New Jersey are the lastest New Jersey schools to come under attack by these tiny, blood-sucking insects. (See our Tuesday post about bed bug probems in Trenton area Hamilton Township schools.) Bed bug dogs patrolled both schools, buses and a school van, alerting pest control officials to seven bed bug infested areas, including a faculty room couch.

School officials acted promptly to investigate and treat the bed bug problem, but the easy ability with which bed bugs spread has officials and parents on the watch for additional outbreaks in the community. Bed bugs which feed on human blood hide in tiny cracks and crevices between meals. They or their sticky eggs can easily be transported on children’s clothing and backpacks. Shared facilities like buses, language labs, cafeterias, gym locker rooms and activity centers allow bed bugs to spread from classroom to classroom and school to school — and into children’s homes.

If your child brings bed bugs home, call a professional bed bug expert immediately.