NH middle school ends field trip early due to bed bug infestation

CHARLTON, Mass. — A sixth-grade class trip was reportedly cut short in Charlton, Mass. after bed bugs were found in the students' rooms.

Litchfield Middle School's sixth-graders were on a fall field trip to Nature's Classroom when a student discovered suspicious bites on his arm, according to the New Hampshire school's principal.

"A student had presented with a few unidentified bug bites on his arm.  The nurse there could not determine with certainty the nature of the bites, and so as a precaution the staff thought it was necessary to bring in a scent-detection canine to scan the sleeping facility," Principal Tom Lecklider said.

The bites have not been confirmed to have come from bed bugs, but Lecklider said a search dog confirmed there was a bed bug infestation in six rooms at the facility.

"We felt it was in our student's best interest, and our interest, to return home," he told FOX25's Elizabeth Hopkins. "They were disappointed."

The field trip was scheduled to end on Friday, but kids were taken home a day early after bites were found on one of the students.

John Santos, the director for Nature's Classroom, said the facility has successfully treated the rooms.

"All three room have since been successfully heat treated," Santos said. "As an additional precaution for next week’s trip to Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, MA, we have hired the K-9 for confirmation that the dormitories are clear and to investigate the luggage before it is allowed to enter the dorms on Monday."

Nature's classroom is a Massachusetts-based non-profit that emphasizes learning in the outdoors by providing field trips to schools and organizations throughout New England.

"The district is pursuing efforts to secure at least a partial refund for the families of the students who attended," Lecklider said.

Santos added it is impossible to specify where the bugs originated from.

Cox Media Group