Summer Nearly Over But Mosquitoes Still a Threat

The temperatures may be dropping outdoors but the bugs of summer persist.

With mosquitoes still actively buzzing around, the wants to make sure residents take measures to limit standing water, a breeding ground for the pests.

West Nile virus first was found in DuPage County in , in traps that were set in Lemont. Then, in , the virus was found in mosquitoes caught in a trap in Naperville. On Sept. 5, a trap in the same area of the city, Iroquois Avenue and Columbia Street in Arrowhead Park, was found to have mosquitoes with West Nile virus, according to the city.

The city has been regularly spraying the area where the mosquitoes with the virus were found. The area has been sprayed every Friday as a precaution. No other mosquitoes caught in other areas of Naperville have tested positive for the virus.

The Culex pipiens is the specific type of mosquito that carries West Nile. It lays its eggs in stagnant water, David W. Hass, communications manager for the DuPage County Health Department said in a previous story. West Nile virus is known as a flavivirus, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Researchers believe West Nile virus is spread when a mosquito bites an infected bird and then bites a person.

The DuPage County Health Department offers some precautions for avoiding West Nile virus or any other mosquito-borne illness including:

• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn.

• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeve shirt, and apply insect repellent that includes DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535 according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.

• Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night.

• Eliminate all sources of standing water that can support mosquito breeding, including water in bird baths, ponds, flower pots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles. In communities where there are organized mosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.