MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A bed bug scare at the Grand Strand campus of Horry Georgetown Technical College means some extra pest control on campus, and some missed classes for one student.
The school's senior vice president Marilyn Fore said someone saw a bed bug on a student's desk during class Wednesday.
"We took immediate action to clean and sterilize that classroom as soon as the class was dismissed."
Fore said workers also did a second spraying on Friday after classes dismissed.
"[They were] sterilizing, cleaning, not only that classroom but the entire building and even external to the building," she explained.
Insect expert and Clemson Extension Agent Ben Powell said the pest control treatments were a good idea, even if it was just one bug.
"Having a single bed bug that has fed, and possibly a female that has eggs, could be a single introduction that could persist for many months if not dealt with immediately," Powell said.
For the students' piece of mind, the classroom will not be used the rest of the semester, but school leaders have gone even further. The teacher reportedly saw bites on the student sitting at the desk where the bug was seen. So that student will not be allowed back in class until a doctor says she does not have any signs of more bugs.
"We wanted to caution her, be sure she had a physician's care," Fore said.
Powell said bed bugs have been a growing problem across the country in recent years, especially in places like Myrtle Beach where a lot of people are traveling.
He said bed bugs usually like dark places that are not moving, but it is possible for someone to carry a bug on the body, clothing or whatever he or she is carrying. So he understands the school's extra precautions.
"It's a whole lot easier to keep something out of a place than it is to try and control it once it's established a population, and bed bugs are especially difficult to control," Powell said.
Fore said as of mid-day Friday the student has not yet gotten back in touch with the school's administration.
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