Lambs Farm in Green Oaks dealing with bedbugs, state agency confirms

Lambs Farm has been responding to a bedbug problem in some of the campus' group homes, according to a state agency.

Bedbugs reportedly were discovered in September in one of the homes on the Green Oaks complex near the Tri-State Tollway. The bugs are now believed to have resurfaced in several group homes.

Authorities from the Illinois Department of Public Health recently said they were made aware of the situation at Lambs Farm and inspected the facilities.

"We found the facility indeed was responding to it appropriately," said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for agency.

Neither Lambs Farm President and CEO Dianne M. Yaconetti nor spokeswoman Natasha Taylor responded Tuesday for comment.

Lambs Farm provides housing for men and women with developmental disabilities, as well as vocational, residential, recreational and social programs.

While an annoyance, bedbugs should not be considered a medical or public health hazard, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bed bugs are not known to spread disease, but may cause itching and loss of sleep.

The Lake County Health Department does not have any regulatory control over bedbugs because they do not transmit disease, according to spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski. She said the health department tries to assist by providing information and resources to help someone who wants to eliminate or control bedbugs.

Piotrowski said complaints received by the health department typically concern apartment buildings, hotels or motels.

ABC 7 Chicago reported Lambs officials said they have used chemical and heat treatments and specially-trained dogs to spot the bugs, but the problem continues and bedbugs have been found in six of 11 residential buildings.

Bedbugs - also known as cimex lectularius - are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The critters are reddish-brown, roughly the size of Abraham Lincoln's head on a penny and can live months without a blood meal.