Officials Keeping West Nile Virus From Village

With mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus next door in Northbrook, theSouthlake Mosquito Abatement District is doing everything it can to keep the disease transporting insects out of Deerfield.

No Culex mosquitoes, the most likely to carry the sickness, have been found yet in Deerfield, Bannockburn, Riverwoods, Highland Park or Highwood, the five communities serviced by the District, according to Trustee Larry Feder.

“Not that we know of,” Feder said about the insects presence in the Village. “We have mosquito traps and we check them but those insects have wings and can fly.”

The traps are checked several times a week if not daily in all five communities, according to Feder. The sewer catch basins along the Village’s curbsides are the place most likely for the Culex to breed. “That’s how we monitor it,” he said of the frequent testing of catch basins.

A service sends people around the area on bicycles to drop larva killing chemicals in the catch basins as often as necessary to prevent the eggs from hatching. The treatment lasts approximately a month, according to Feder.

Deerfield Village Trustee Barbara Struthers warned citizens to be careful near the end of Monday’s Village Board meeting. She is concerned despite the fact the overall mosquito population is less this summer.

“This year’s extreme temperatures coupled with the ongoing drought are the perfect conditions for continued amplification of the virus,” Struthers said. “Any water standing for three days or more will breed mosquitoes.”

Struthers wants people to be careful with things as tiny as a child’s bucket, a bird bath or watering can. She also suggests wearing repellant, particularly in the evening.

Meanwhile, the Southlake Mosquito Abatement District will continue to do its part. “We try to do a good job of keeping the larva from becoming flying insects,” Feder said. People can call their hotline (800-942-2555) with observations.

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