Bedbugs are reportedly in several residence halls on campus, and officials said they likely originated from a group of freshmen who attended an engineering trip last month.

University spokesperson Tracy Schario said only one student was confirmed to have been bitten by the insects, but about a dozen may have been exposed to them. The freshmen were part of a School of Engineering and Applied Sciences retreat in the woods before the start of school.

“We believe it’s confined to a small group of students,” Schario said. “But the problem with bedbugs is that they multiply, so we are going to be monitoring this situation.”

Schario said she could not specify all of the residence halls where bedbugs had been reported out of concern for the privacy of those infected, but she confirmed that the SEAS residence hall at 2034 G Street would be cleaned on Thursday. “The good thing is that the cause of this was identified in a short order of time,” Schario said.

The University recommends that students who suspect they have bedbugs – with symptoms including a red, itchy rash and welts – should visit Student Health Services and contact Residential Property Management to have their room inspected.