The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District combated last week’s findings of West Nile virus with adult mosquito control operations throughout the Evanston area.

The NSMAD reported some mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus in a news release last Thursday. According to a weekly report, the number of infected mosquitoes has increased and is projected to continue rising during July, with infected mosquitoes found in Evanston, Morton Grove and Winnetka.

In response, NSMAD conducted targeted adult mosquito control operations in over ten cities on Wednesday, June 29.

NSMAD communications manager David Zazra said though about 90 percent of efforts are dedicated to larval control, incidents such as an abundance of adult mosquitoes or the current West Nile virus discoveries call for adult mosquito operations, also known as spraying. Zara said spraying is “an immediate knockdown of adult mosquitoes.”
“Incidents are starting to increase in terms of the positive mosquitoes that are out there and we want to try to knock them down and suppress West Nile virus,” he said. “Knowing that we’re coming up on a holiday when people will be spending a lot of time outdoors, we want to add that layer of extra protection at this time just to minimize everyone’s risk of being bitten.”

The risk of contracting the virus remains low, but Zazra continues to recommend personal precautionary measures. He said to avoid peak mosquito feeding times around dawn and dusk, use repellent and dump out anything that may be holding water.

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