Primary school combats cockroach infestation

A Fort Richmond school is warning parents to check their children’s clothing and backpacks as it battles a cockroach infestation.

École St. Avila alerted parents and guardians on Monday that insects had been spotted throughout the kindergarten-to-Grade 6 building.

Bugs were found in five different spaces, including four classrooms (Rooms No. 9, 24, 27 and 28) and the staff room inside the school at 633 Patricia Ave.

The Pembina Trails School Division did not disclose when the first sighting of a cockroach was reported nor how long it took to handle the situation.

Division spokesperson Radean Carter issued a generic statement, saying Abell Pest Control was contacted and has since treated “all necessary areas.” Staff have completed additional cleaning, Carter said.

“To help prevent the insects from moving to and from the school, we have asked our families to please check their child’s clothing, backpacks, and school materials for any signs of insects before and after school,” she said in an email.

“This co-operation is critical in ensuring that the treatment is successful.”

Students in the affected classrooms are being asked to store their belongings in Rubbermaid bins when classes are in session.

Daily monitoring will take place indefinitely and if need be, there will be followup treatments, Carter said.

One father said his Grade 1 student’s belongings are being kept in the garage for now in response to the “disgusting” revelation.

“We don’t bring his school bags inside now. We’re checking everything thoroughly — his mitts and all his winter stuff,” the parent, who declined to provide his name, said as he picked up his child on Tuesday afternoon.

The family is feeling unnerved about the situation that community members were first alerted about Monday, he said, adding he’s learned more about cockroaches via social media users than his son’s school.

“We all have the right to feel safe and well at school,” said Lise Legal, president of the Pembina Trails Teachers’ Association.

“Although the division has shared that steps are being taken, ongoing health, safety, and workload concerns exist and continue to compound.”

Manitoba Public Health warns that cockroaches and their feces can carry bacteria and viruses, such as salmonella, staphylococcus, streptococcus and E.coli.

Entomologist Taz Stuart said these insects scrape skin rather than bite, but it’s far more commonplace for maladies to spread via their feces.

The bugs tend to hide out in the dark in cracks, crevices and near water sources, such as sinks and dishwashers, said Stuart, who owns Taz Pest Control.

He said it’s important that community members know what to look out for — tiny, rough droppings that are often in clusters — while experts search for the source.

“It’s all about cleanliness. Roaches like dirty areas — unkempt areas, hoarding situations. Roaches love it because there’s so many places to hide,” he said.

Stuart noted the pests are “great travellers” who often hitch a ride into a school via an individual with a household infestation.

Poulin’s Pest Control’s president echoed those comments.

Lincoln Poulin said these bugs are commonly found in kitchens and may sneak into schools via student lunch bags.

“If people are worried about roaches, cold is one of the best treatment methods. If you’re worried that it’s in some bags or belongings you have, put them outside and let them get to zero degrees. That will kill all the stages of German cockroaches,” he said.

As for larger infestations, Poulin said it typically takes between two to four weeks for a pest control company to eradicate cockroaches from a site.

He’s a proponent of storing lunchboxes in fridges whenever possible and using glue board traps to monitor sites.

“Pests are everywhere in everybody’s homes and so, our schools are no different — they’re subject to pests and the more population that a school has, the higher the risk of potentially having these issues,” said René Lambert, provincial maintenance director for the Manitoba Association of School Business Officials.

Custodians and their colleagues are all too familiar with managing lice, wasps and even cats who relieve themselves in sandboxes, he said.

Lambert noted it’s standard practice for staff to contact a pest control company to lead an investigation.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca