Small midtown college says it's dealing with bed bugs in three classrooms

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Hundreds of students and teachers pass through the doors each day at Platt College, and one of them brought along some uninvited guests: Bed bugs.

"They are great at traveling like a tick or a chigger on our clothing, and that's how they get dispersed everywhere," says Daryl Carter, owner of The Bed Bug Store.

Carter is something of an expert on the little parasites, selling sprays and mattress covers to prevent and exterminate the parasites. He says bed bugs don't just stick to mattresses; they can be found anywhere.

"Where there's a lot of people going in and out, especially if they are sitting down somewhere. Restaurants, theaters, the list is pretty long," he said.

Evidently, schools fall under that list too. John Pappas, executive director of Platt College, says after an inspection, "it was determined that we had bed bugs in three of our classrooms. We moved students to other classrooms in the building."The school is not just sitting on their hands with this. They've received estimates from four different companies. They've selected a large national extermination company and had them in on Tuesday to begin the process of exterminating the bed bugs. Carter says bed bugs are typically quiet during the winter, but now that it's warming up, we're going to hear about more cases."They become very very active in warm weather, and most people know it because been bitten or they've seen activity in the bedroom or in their living room," Carter said. Tulsa's Channel 8 spoke with a student who wanted to remain anonymous, but she says she's pleased with how the school is handling the situation. Pappas says he is going personally classroom to classroom to address students and their questions and concerns in the meantime.