Village Sprayed for Mosquitos Tuesday Night

Mosquitos have been a hot topic on our Facebook page, from the swarms of mosquitos that have been sighted to whether the mosquito spraying trucks sped through the streets earlier this week. 

Here's a snippet from a Facebook thread on our page last Thursday: 

Kris Mezatis Soo.. is Woodridge going to spray for these obnoxious mosquitoes???? HELP!

Tina Fanning Kadisak They are so bad!

Kris Mezatis Isn't it RIDICULOUS! Geez...

We asked the whether a truck spraying would occur soon. 

The village works with its contractor Clarke Environmental on an aggressive and comprehensive mosquito abatement program, according to Jack Knight, the village's management analyst. 

The village reviewed mosquito trap counts and looked at weather conditions to determine if conditions are appropriate for a truck spraying. 

Clarke conducted a truck spray in Woodridge, as well as Lisle, Downers Grove, Downers Grove Township, Lisle Township, Westmont, Oak Brook, Elmhurst, York Township and other area communities on Tuesday night, he said. 

But our readers have expressed concern whether the trucks drove past too fast. 

Diane McKillip I witnessed the Village truck "spraying" for mosquitos last night. The vehicle was traveling over 35 mph easily and there was no "fog" that I could see coming from the tank. I question the effectiveness of this "spraying"...given that I still can't stand outside in my own front yard without being mauled by those hungry critters.

Kris Mezatis My husband said the zoomed fast down our street too!

The village works with Clarke Environmental in a variety of mosquito abatement techniques, including targeted adulticiding through the use of back-pack and truck spray applications.

Unfortunately, the truck spray application is the most ineffective method of control as the spray droplets need to touch the mosquitoes in order to kill them.  

Not all municipalities spray for mosquitos, including Darien. 

“The fogging itself kills off less than five percent of adult mosquitoes and it puts chemicals into the air,” said Scott Coren, assistant city administrator, to Darien Patch earlier this summer.

“We never wanted to pursue it because of concerns of what it could do to human health.”

The village asks anyone with concerns or issues to contact Clarke Environmental’s toll free hotline at 800-942-2555. Other questions can be directed to the Public Works Department at 630-719-4753.

More information on Clarke's mosquito abatement 

Clarke monitors information on mosquitoes from across the region, coupled with their computerized models to predict new broods being hatched, and coordination between spraying in different communities.

Culex mosquitoes, which carry West Nile virus, aren't expected to make an appearance in the area until August or September. To monitor their arrival, the DuPage County Health Department sets traps throughout the county to check for the  species, but as of June 16, this mapshows no West Nile-carrying mosquitoes in the area. Because culex mosquitoes can only fly one to two miles from where they hatched, they are easier to control, monitor and eliminate.

Together, village and Clarke officials will undertake the following monitoring and treatment activities throughout the year:

• Ongoing trap counts and monitoring of standing bodies of water through-out the season.
• Larviciding activities to kill mosquito larvae before they become adults. This includes chemical applications in standing bodies of water, stocking retention ponds with more than 22,000 mosquito eating fish, and putting altosoid briquettes into storm water catch basins.
• Targeted adulticiding through the use of back-pack and truck spray applications. Unfortunately, the truck spray application is the most ineffective method of control as the spray droplets need to touch the mosquitoes in order to kill them.