Elmhurst Continues Mosquito Control Efforts

Elmhurst will be conducting increased mosquito control efforts to help suppress the high level of nuisance mosquitoes that resulted from last month’s rains.

“The heavy June rainfall gave Elmhurst its wettest June on record,” said Emily Glasberg, entomologist for Clarke, the City’s contractor for mosquito control. “This means that floodwater mosquito eggs had the standing water they needed to mature.”

These rains have dramatically changed the dynamics of mosquito control in the region.

The city has contracted with St. Charles-based Clarke to conduct its mosquito control operations, which includes surveillance and mapping of mosquito breeding sites, treating storm drains with larvicides to prevent mosquito eggs from developing, and adulticiding, which involves dispersing an ultra-low volume product that interacts with mosquitoes on the wing to reduce adult populations.

Clarke also monitors rainfall to determine when large broods of wet weather (nuisance) mosquitos will be emerging. Based upon this information, these increased adulticiding treatments will continue in Elmhurst over the next two weeks and are coordinated with applications in York Township, Oakbrook Terrace, Addison, Oak Brook and Addison Township to provide greater control over the larger area.

Weather permitting, adulticiding treatments will be done the weeks of July 13 and July 20. Catch basin treatments are ongoing, and the next helicopter larviciding application is due the week of July 13.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Joint Statement on Mosquito Control in the United States, “All insecticides used in the U.S. for public health use have been approved and registered by the EPA following the review of many scientific studies. The EPA has assessed these chemicals and found that, when used according to label directions, they do not pose unreasonable risk to public health and the environment.”

“While floodwater mosquitoes are aggressive biters, the one bit of good news is they tend to be poor transmitters of West Nile Virus,” said Glasberg.

Residents who have questions or would like to receive a phone call when there will be spraying for mosquitoes, or report instances of standing water, can call the Clarke Mosquito Hotline at 800-942- 2555.

In addition to community control initiatives, residents can take these additional steps to reduce mosquito populations around their homes this summer, including:

• Remove or empty water in old tires, tin cans, buckets, drums, bottles or other places where mosquitoes might breed.
• Empty plastic wading pools at least once a week and store indoors when not in use. If unused, drain swimming pools and keep dry.
• Change water weekly in bird baths, plant saucers and trays.
• Water bowls used by pets should be emptied and refilled daily.
• Fill holes around home that may retain water. • Keep gutters around home in good repair to avoid water build-up.
• Keep weeds and grass cut short, as adult mosquitoes look for shady places to rest during hot daylight hours.
• Be sure screens in homes are intact and tight-fitting to prevent entry of insects.
• Use insect repellant and wear long-sleeved shirts and pants when going outdoors.