City-Wide Mosquito Spraying Planned In Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Anti-mosquito spraying is planned throughout Highland Park and Deerfield Wednesday night, the Southlake Mosquito Abatement District announced Wednesday afternoon. The district said it plans what it called ground-based adult mosquito control in response to an increase in recorded mosquito populations.

Weather permitting, the insecticide spraying will begin after 9 p.m. in Deerfield and after 10 p.m. in Highland Park, according to officials in both towns.

So far in 2017, there have been six confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in Lake County in 2018 among 63 cases statewide as of Sept. 19, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. At least one person has died, a 65-year-old resident of LaSalle County.

The virus is spread to humans through bites from West Nile-positive mosquitoes who catch the virus by feeding on infect birds. Symptoms can include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches and last up to a few weeks, although four out of five people infected will not show symptoms, according to public health officials. However, severe illness like meningitis or encephalitis and even death, can occur in rare cases. People over the age of 50 or who have compromised immune systems are at an increased risk of severe illness from the virus.

Public health officials suggest taking these steps to reduce mosquitoes in your area as well as your chance of being bitten by a West Nile-infected mosquito:

• Minimize time spent outoodrs outdoors when mosquitoes transmitting West Nile virus are most active, especially between dusk and dawn.
• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent.
• Eliminate all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, such as old tires, buckets and other receptacles, or refresh the water in bird baths, flower pots and wading pools every couple days.

More information is available by calling the Southlake Mosquito Abatement District's mosquito hotline at 800-942-2555.