They've been all over the city and they could be all over campus. And what they're looking for is you.

Lou Sorkin, an entomologist for the American Museum of Natural History, has been studying bedbugs for years, and has watched their population in NYC skyrocket.

"All the different stages of the bedbugs feed on blood, so all these - from the tiniest little bedbug to the adult bedbug - has to take a blood meal and the adults will continue to take blood after becoming an adult, so they'll take blood and mate and then you'll have more bedbugs...You can see the difference between the adult female and the newly hatched nymphs and almost right away they begin to feed."

Mr. Sorkin has also advised Columbia University on ways to educate residents and help prevent a problem before it's started. Bedbugs can live anywhere, in your beds, on your sofa, in your carpet, on your ceiling. And you may not even know you have them. Although their bites don't hurt, they still cause damage.

Jose Rosa and a team of administrators in the Housing Department have been looking for ways to make students more aware of the bedbug issue, and more likely to report a problem.

"It's not such a health issue, it's a mental issue. Worst case scenario would be if a student had an issue and it went unreported for some time that allows these bedbugs to migrate and fester and infiltrate the structure of the building and other residents therein."

"Right now, we're in a better place than a lot of the other universities and hotels in the city and a lot of it is the effort we've put in for this and the students that help us make sure the process is followed correctly."

That process includes precautions students can take to prevent infestations from spreading.

"Do not pick up any furnishings off the street. That's the number one way of transporting [bedbugs]...Am I concerned that we're going to have a serious outbreak? At this point, no. As long as it's being identified and reported to us, we'll react."

Only time will tell if students get the message.