Late in the afternoon on Thursday, Feb. 2, Mars Area School District identified a single bed bug on a Mars Area Primary Center student, who traveled throughout the building during the school day.

As a result, the District is moving forward with the necessary steps to treat the entire building for bed bugs. However, given the late notice, the District is not able to schedule extermination professionals to treat the school until tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 3); therefore, it is necessary to close the building.

Therefore, Mars Area Primary Center will be closed on Friday, Feb. 3, and all kindergarten and first grade students ONLY will be asked to participate in a Remote Learning / Flexible Instruction Day. Remote instruction for Grades K-1 will run on a Two-Hour Delay with Modified Kindergarten Schedule, as with any Remote Learning / Flexible Instruction Day.

For more information about Remote Learning / Flexible Instruction Days, visit https://www.marsk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=795498&type=d&pREC_ID=2117921.  

The District recommends that any parents/guardians and/or students, who are concerned about bed bugs on clothing or in school bags, should place those items in a sealed plastic bag to prevent the spread of any bed bugs. As soon as possible, the items should be thoroughly washed and dried on high heat for a minimum of 30 minutes to kill any bed bugs.

Bed bugs (cimex lectularius) are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, range from 1mm to 7mm (roughly the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny), and can live several months without a blood meal. Bed bugs are usually transported from place to place in the seams and folds of bags, folded clothes and anywhere else where bed bugs can hide. Additional information regarding bed bugs is available on The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) website, www.cdc.gov/parasites/bedbugs/faqs.html.

The District would like to assure all parents/guardians that it is doing everything possible to provide a safe and healthy school environment for all of our students and staff members. The District thanks all parents/guardians  for their cooperation in this matter.