The number of reported bedbug sightings in New York City schools tripled during the last school year.
Nearly 4,000 sightings were confirmed in the 2010-2011 school year, up from only 1,000 the year before,reports the Daily News
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A spokeswoman for the Department of Education says most incidents involved only a single bedbug inadvertently carried into the school from outside.
The school plans to take extra precautions to ward off the creepy critters next year, including storing items like backpacks in plastic bags, reports the News.
The menacing bloodsuckers have plagued the city in recent years, embedding themselves in places like the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn district attorney's office, celebrity gyms, and, most recently, a Staten Island lockup.
Bedbugs are famously difficult to eradicate; they hide in many more places than beds and can go for a year without feeding. Once the creepy crawlers establish themselves in your homes or offices, it can cost thousands of dollars to get rid of them -- and even then, there's no guarantee they won't return.
Check out tips for keeping them out of your homes on the city’s website
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