Bedbug Infestation Plagues Kindergarten in Central Israel, Parents Keep Children Home

Children at the "Sheskoma" kindergarten in the Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal local council have been kept home for the past few days due to a severe bedbug infestation. Parents decided to withdraw their children after they returned home covered in bites.

According to parents, the problem began last year, and despite the council's efforts to address it during the summer break, the infestation reappeared as soon as the new school year began. One parent described her 5-year-old son's distress, stating, "He couldn't sleep all night from the itching." She has refused to send him back to kindergarten after he returned covered in bites and constantly scratching.

The local council has been attempting to resolve the issue for months. Initial attempts involved pest control, assuming the problem was general vermin. However, after a doctor diagnosed the bites as potentially from bedbugs, the council relocated the children to alternative structures twice last school year to allow for thorough cleaning and fumigation. Despite these measures and assurances from the council during the summer that the problem was resolved, the bites returned with the start of the new academic year.

Parents are frustrated with the council's repeated spraying efforts, which they believe have been ineffective. One father noted that when the children were moved to different facilities last year, the problem ceased, suggesting this as a more viable solution. The council stated that they have been treating the issue for about six months, in coordination with health officials. They have moved the children twice to temporary locations for extensive cleaning and renovation, sent soil samples to the Ministry of Health which returned normal, and conducted comprehensive pest control treatments for bedbugs, fleas, and pigeon ticks. Further actions, including pigeon removal and additional fumigation, are planned.

The council offered parents the option to temporarily transfer their children to another kindergarten as a short-term solution for those unwilling to keep their children in the affected facility during treatment. They emphasized that this is not a substitute for resolving the root problem and that they are in constant communication with parents, understanding their concerns, and providing updates until the issue is fully resolved.