Oswego Residents Invited To Sign Up For Clarke Mosquito Hotline

OSWEGO, IL — Clarke, Oswego’s contracted mosquito control company, has warned of what is expected to be an intense start to mosquito season. Lots of rain, combined with warmer temperatures have created the ideal conditions for large broods of mosquitoes to begin hatching. West Nile Virus, which caused 17 deaths in Illinois last year, has already been detected in mosquitoes in DuPage County last month.

What the village is doing

Clarke will conduct its first spray of the season on Thursday, weather permitting. Mosquito spraying is a big job that begins around dusk and continues for several hours into the early morning. This timing helps ensure that technicians are spraying when the mosquitoes are most active.

Mosquito spraying is conducted on a regular basis but is dependent upon weather conditions. The Village will, whenever possible, announce mosquito spraying on social media, usually the morning of the expected spraying. Follow the Village of Oswego on Facebook, @VillageofOswego, or on Twitter, @OswegoIL60543.

You can also sign up for text or email notifications directly from Clarke. Visit https://www.clarkeportal.com/hotline, enter your information and click ‘Register for Service Notifications.’ You’ll get a text or an email when mosquito spraying is scheduled.

In addition, Clarke has more than 250 mosquito traps across Chicagoland to monitor the mosquito population and help detect diseases like West Nile Virus early. In Oswego, Clarke also applies treatments early in the season to kill mosquito larvae before they hatch to reduce the number of spray applications necessary.

What you can do

Residents can help reduce the mosquito population by eliminating mosquito breeding sites on their own properties and reporting standing water on public property.

The single most important thing you can do to make your own backyard comfortable and pest-free is to eliminate standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs. Clogged gutters, open trash bins, low-lying parts of the yard, pet water bowls, potted plant saucers, and toys like wagons and play sets can all be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Pools of water as small as a bottle cap are enough for a mosquito to lay and hatch eggs.

Residents can also report standing water on public property or large, concentrated areas of mosquitoes using the Clark hotline. Visit https://www.clarkeportal.com/hotline and click ‘Report Standing Water.’

You can also reduce your exposure to mosquito bites. Avoid being outside at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, wear pants and long-sleeved shirts, and apply a CDC-approved repellent, such as DEET, Picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Submitted by the Village of Oswego