Bedbug infestations: What to watch out for

Q. With the recent increase in bedbug infestations, I'm curious. Can they be spread like lice? Do I have to worry about my child bringing them home from school?

A. "Lice are very contagious; bedbugs are not the same," says Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, a Farmingdale-based urban entomologist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program of Cornell University. Lice are insects that attach to the hair, reproduce and live on a person. Bedbugs live in cracks and crevices close to people sleeping; they visit the victim, bite and leave. Bedbugs are a nuisance but do not spread diseases.

With lice, children need to avoid child-to-child contact to help prevent the spread. If a bedbug is found in a school, it most likely was brought in by a child's bag or backpack, Gangloff-Kaufmann says. "The bags are where the risk is," she says. If you're concerned, make sure you keep your child's school backpack away from sleeping areas, and shake it out outside.

If a bedbug is found in a Nassau or Suffolk school, the school likely will notify parents, Gangloff-Kaufmann says. "In New York City, for instance, an alert goes out to parents with instructions," she says. While bedbugs have been found in New York City schools in the recent past, there's no epidemic on Long Island, she says. "There has yet to be an outbreak of bedbugs spreading in the schools. That is something that can reassure people." To see what a bedbug looks like, visit nysipm.cornell.edu/whats_bugging_you/bed_bugs/default.asp.