Parent Bedbug Letter

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Download template parent bedbug letter above.

 

[Date]

Dear Parents,

First and foremost, we would like to thank you for choosing to send your child to [Name of Camp]. We know you have many choices, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to serve your family.

We pride ourselves on being honest and transparent about your child’s camp experience. We recently discovered the existence of bed bugs in [a cabin at our camp]. We are writing to notify you of this issue and answer any questions you may have. We are taking the necessary steps to treat the affected areas. We are also providing guidance below to help reduce the possibility of your child bringing bed bugs into your home.

Bed bugs are not native to camp, they were brought to camp by someone from the outside. Bed bugs are small insects (about 1/8″ in length) that nest in dark areas near human hosts. Regardless of their name, bed bugs are not limited to nesting in beds and mattresses. They can live in furniture, wall voids, carpet, behind electrical outlet plates, clothes, suitcases and almost any crack or crevice. Bed bug bites appear as red welts on the skin and look very similar to a mosquito bite. Typically, bites will appear in a row or clusters. Bed bugs have not been demonstrated to transmit disease and the bites are no more severe than a mosquito bite.

We’ve taken actions to treat and clean your child’s belonging, but we recommend the following steps (all of which we have done here at camp) as an added precaution to prevent your child from bringing bed bugs into your home. Place all of your child’s linens and clothing in a black trash bag and leave it outside in the hot sun for a full day. The heat will kill any pests that may have made their way home with your camper. We also recommend that you inspect and wash, in hot water, all of your child’s linens and clothing.

The following websites can provide more information on bed bugs:

http://www.bedbugcentral.com/

http://bedbugger.com/

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me directly at [phone number].

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Title & Info]