Cockroach infestations at 15 Ottawa schools, OCDSB says

Parents of studentsat 15 Ottawa schools might want to check their children's knapsacks tonight. According to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, threehighschools and 12 elementary schoolshave infestations ofcockroaches.

However the OCDSB is only notifying parents of one of those schools about the infestation, and plans to inform the others "over the next few days."

Parents of children at Manor Park Public School were the first to receivenotice Thursday. According to the email,the warm summerand a renovation project at the schoolconspiredtoprovideperfect breeding conditions for the bugs.

The school says it's been dusting the building with a mildpesticide for the past couple of weeks to try to get rid of the cockroaches, but isnow planninga more thorough sprayingover the Thanksgiving weekend.

Parentupset she wasn't informed earlier

Heather Birchall has two children at Manor Park. She's angry she wasn't informed at the start of the school year.

"Our children could have been carrying these [cockroach]eggs home for weeks now and infesting [the homes of]people, and I don't think it's right that they withheld this information from us," she said.

I don't think it's right that they withheld this information from us.- Heather Birchall, parent

TheOCDSBsaid schools do not normally inform parents when they're dustingfor bugs because the pesticide is not airborne, may be confined to one small area of the school and ismild enough that it poses no health risks.

But schoolsdoinform parentswhen they plan a more intensive spraying campaign. The board saysthe other 14 schools with infestations will be informed over the next few days, and parents will be told to take precautions to prevent the bugs from "hitchhiking" into their homes.

The board's superintendent of facilitiesMike Carson saidthe boardwants parents and staff to be vigilant.

"We encourage parents to check your kid's backpack," Carsonsaid.