Terry says, “A pest control program for bed bugs is very detailed. You’ve got to get all the crevices. We are doing a little more than we really need to, but it’s to make sure we don’t have a problem in the future.”

That means Terry’s son, Tony, has to bag contents of every locker in the school, and then spray those contents with an insecticide.

Tony and his mother are wearing only gloves now, but when the heavy fumigation gets underway, they’ll be wearing face masks, too.

I am interested in these methods, since I have not heard PCOs here talking about spraying into bags of belongings. Perhaps a PCO would tell us what this might be.

I initially thought it was a good thing that Bracken County Schools were taking bed bugs seriously after finding a bed bug in school, since cities like New York City are so slow to take action against similar situations. My initial positive sense was based on Bracken County’s willingness to treat schools for bed bugs. I thought that their treatment of every school in the district was based on a sense that bed bugs must be more widespread than in just this one school.

Now, however, I am becoming more concerned about the community’s response, especially their apparent obsession with pinpointing its source. It betrays a lack of education about bed bugs and their behavior, which appears to be a prevalent problem elsewhere too.

Parents in Brooksville are divided about the schools closing an extra day just for bed bugs.

Elizabeth Aulick, a mother of two Bracken County students says, “Yeah, it does concern me, but the letter I got said they only found one bug. If it’s one bug isolated to one child, keep him home for a few days.”

A mother of three Bracken County students, including one at the Middle School says, “I guess it’s a little unexpected. I never expected something like this, but I guess it’s a good thing. Just to be on the safe side. It didn’t both me, I said, ‘Well, that’s fine.’”

The school fumigation in Bracken County is getting the full support of the county health department there.

I am glad the health department in Bracken County recognizes bed bugs as a concern, since many don’t. However, I have to say that what’s being said about the child in this case is absurd.

People in Bracken County must not associate the schools’ bed bug issue, if they indeed have one, with this one student who may have had the bed bug on his things or on his clothing. Bed bugs can live and breed in schools or in school buses or public transportation, and they can crawl onto students at any of these locations (as well as many others). As we have taken pains to explain in the past, the presence of a bed bug on a person or their things absolutely does not prove the person brought the bed bug in.

All parents, including those of the child who was bitten by the bed bug, must search at home and have a qualified PCO inspect if anyone is complaining of bites or if they see any bed bugs or possible signs. However, it is crucial that parents and school officials realize that bed bugs are not lice, and do not live on people. They crawl on, feed, and run away. If a bed bug is found on a person in a school, it does not mean the person brought the bed bug to the school.

I would assume the Bracken County School officials know this, since they are treating every school, and not just the one the bed bug was found in. And yet it does not sound like the parents or media have been picking up on that fact.

If the child did indeed have had an infestation at home and brought them into the school, then his family, too, caught them from somewhere. They spread easily. And everyone should be alert. Everyone should be asking where this family might have picked up bed bugs: parents’ workplace? YMCA? School? Bus? Motel? Because where they got them, you can get them too.

However, the child should not be blamed, nor should he be kept home. People with active infestations need to take some steps to avoid spreading bed bugs. Treating the child himself as if he were contagious is an ignorant mistake.

• Schools in Bracken County, KY shut down due to bed bugs
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Police say the boy had been diagnosed with asthma, and the cover was the kind meant to keep out allergens [LoHud]. It was inside out and the zipper was apparently stuck closed.

The boy had been playing in his bedroom alone and his grandmother checked on him after noticing he’d been quiet. He was pronounced dead on Tuesday night at Westchester Medical Center.

This story is very upsetting, but provides an important warning. This family did not apparently have bed bugs, but mattress encasements that zip securely closed (never to be opened again!) are an important part of a bed bug-fighting strategy. You can’t do without them. They are not meant to be removed for 18 months, and I think they provide an important line of defense for your mattress, so I would not remove it even after that.

However, if you have children in the home, you must ensure that you educate them about the zippered cover. They must never remove it. Taping it securely might help as an added deterrent (and to make it clear to you if it ever was opened). Luckily, most children will probably be able to understand such a lesson by the time they have the motor skills to get into trouble.

Mattress encasements perform their work admirably for many people, but I wish people with children or cats with claws had the option of purchasing a mattress heat-sealed in a thick, seamless, waterproof coating. When I was in college, this was the mattress provided by the student residences. It was a normal mattress inside the transparent cover, but the cover was so thick no cat claw could puncture it, and it was not removable, so the tragedy described above could not occur.

I have searched quite a bit and tried to find such a sealed mattress, or someone who performs this service, but have only come up with mattresses made for institutions. (If you want a roughly twin-sized mattress that has no seams, and resist infestation, they’re out there.) One reader suggested I contact companies that seal mattresses for use on boats–if anyone has a lead on that, I would like more information. Many ideas generated by this site could make for fine businesses if people implemented them carefully.

• New mattress encasement comparison test data
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• FAQ: How do I prepare for pest control treatment? Should I put everything in bags?
• Hints from (Bed Bug) Helloise: your bedbug-opinions on hanging Space Bags, Space Bag Totes

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