There's really no such thing as one bedbug, so the move by Harford County Public Schools to cancel overnight weekend sessions at the Harford Glen Environmental Education Center near Bel Air for the rest of the year was the best course of action.
School system officials say a single live bedbug was found in a monitoring station at the center, and overnight visits to the facility were halted effective March 18.
It's unfortunate. Harford Glen provides a wonderful learning experience for many young people who attend the county's public schools. On the banks of what was once the Army's Atkisson Reservoir, the overnight facility is an oasis of wild space in the midst of Bel Air's suburban sprawl. In short, it is wild, but not too wild; it is close to home, but remote enough to provide real exposure to wetlands and wildlife.
"Visits to Harford Glen are a highlight for our students so we hope to resume next school year, but will focus on ensuring there is no longer a concern before resuming any residential visits," the school system's manager of communications Jillian Lader, said in an email.
The school system also noted it uses a "strict regimen of cleaning and disinfection" at Harford Glen and will be taking extra measures to ensure any bedbugs at the facility are eliminated.
It's the smart way to go.
Bedbugs, like lice, don't necessarily indicate poor cleanliness practices. They are spread when people unfortunate enough to have been exposed to them inadvertently carry them to new locations. It's kind of like catching a cold.
Still, just like it makes sense to take precautions so as to keep from spreading a cold, it makes sense to take precautions to prevent the spread of bedbugs.
It's an unfortunate loss of a good program for a few months, but it would be a lot worse if the situation had been ignored and the pests had been allowed to spread.