Teachers suit up amid bed bug scare

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - Portsmouth high school students contacted WAVY.com when their teachers showed up to class wearing protective suits and asked students to place their belongings in plastic bags.

Students at I.C. Norcom High School said this week, boxes labeled "Bed bug kits" appeared in their classrooms. They said their teachers started showing up in class wearing protective suits, but there were none for students, who were instead given plastic bags for their belongings.

"I'm scared because I don't really know about bed bugs," Raven Hawkins said.

A school spokesperson sent the following statement to WAVY.com:

"[Wednesday], two students presented with bites that were identified as bed bug bites. They acknowledged that they had gotten the bites from the home in which they were staying. No bugs were detected in school, which is why the building was not treated. The school administration decided to have the students in the rooms where these two students had attended classes bag their items just as a precautionary measure."

Ten days ago, Norcom and Lakeview Elementary School were treated for bed bugs. A school spokesperson said bed bugs were not found in the schools, although Hawkins disagrees.

"One of my friends said she had rashes on her arms because bed bugs bit her in three spots," Hawkins said.

Hawkins showed WAVY.com the plastic bag she was asked to carry her school supplies in - at the end of the day, it was ripped in several places, hardly protecting items from bed bugs.