Housing advocates say a bedbug epidemic has hit Brooklyn and the rest of the city.

The study says the number of bedbug complaints in the city leaped from 540 in 2004 to 7,000 this past year. Bedbugs are tiny parasitic bugs that feed on human blood. The insects are nocturnal and often hit their victims while they sleep.

The problem isn't just affecting low-income areas. Upper East Side luxury apartments owned by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's father reportedly have been hit by the bug infection. A Broadway theater has also been hit by the epidemic as well, according to the Daily News.

AP wires contributed to this article.

Related information:Bedbug Registry