While pesky mosquitoes during the warm summer months is not a new phenomenon, some south and southwest suburban residents complain they are especially annoying this year.
The Chicago area experienced heavy rains and high heat this summer, conditions experts and community members believe are contributing to higher-than-usual mosquito activity.
Jennifer Garcia, who lives in Orland Park, said of the five years she has lived there, the mosquitoes have never been this bad.
“It’s to the point where I literally go outside with long sleeves and pants just to protect myself,” Garcia said. “I washed my trash cans yesterday and had to wear full body armor just not to get bit.”
Garcia said the large body of water near her house makes the mosquitoes even worse, calling it a “perfect breeding ground.”
Mosquitoes thrive in wet, warm conditions, and prefer to breed in pools of standing water, according to Justin Harbison, an associate professor at Loyola University of Chicago. He said even tiny water sources as small as a bottle cap can attract mosquitoes.
Chris Anchor, chief wildlife biologist at the Forest Preserves of Cook County, said in the southern region, mosquito activity has been localized. He said when heavy rains this summer followed the previous drought, large amounts of mosquitoes returned.
Data from the South Cook County Mosquito Abatement District’s mosquito surveillance dashboard shows Calumet City, Chicago Ridge, Harvey, Orland Park and Thorton are current hotspots.
Harbison the two prominent mosquito species in the Chicago area are mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, and Asian Tiger mosquitoes, an invasive species native to Southeast Asia.
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The first death from West Nile virus in Illinois his year was announced Sept. 1, and there were 13 confirmed statewide cases as of Friday, data from the Illinois Department of Health shows.
Harbison said Asian Tiger mosquitoes do not carry diseases.
While not all mosquitoes carry an illness, getting bitten is not ideal.
Hilary Pries, of Homewood, said mosquitoes are constantly outside her home and in her garden.
Pries said even when wearing long layers in the heat, mosquitoes still find ways to bite through them.
She said mosquitoes will even bite her outside of dawn and dusk, times where mosquito activity can be more frequent for most species.
“I try to be as covered up as possible, but there’s such a high heat index,” Pries said.
She said dealing with mosquitoes has made being outside difficult, even as someone who partakes in many outdoor activities such as camping and running. Recently, Pries and her husband sometimes wear a bug net.
As a result of heightened mosquito activity and concerns regarding West Nile virus transmission, the South Cook County Mosquito Abatement District has conducted mosquito spraying across the region.
Some areas recently treated were Crestwood, Chicago Ridge, Harvey, Oak Lawn, Orland Park and Palos Heights, according to the district’s Facebook page.
Abatement district officials declined interview requests, but said in an email statement that the control methods they primarily use to prevent and kills mosquitoes are larvicide, which kills eggs before they hatch, and fogging, a machine that releases mist containing insecticide.
To avoid bites, the district recommends wearing mosquito repellent, wearing long sleeves and pants when possible and properly closing windows and doors.
The district said residents can take action by eliminating sources of standing water around their homes and businesses.
“Anywhere where even a little bit of standing water is accumulating, that’s an ideal site for a female mosquito to go and lay some eggs in there and have the larvae develop,” said Chris Dietrich, a University of Illinois entomologist.
Additionally, bugs tend to breed more often in warmer temperatures, said Dietrich. Faster life cycles directly correlate to a multiplication of mosquitoes. He called this summer’s conditions “ideal” for flies and mosquitoes.
“Their populations tend to fluctuate pretty dramatically from year to year in response to climatic conditions,” Dietrich said. “We’ve had a pretty warm, wet summer so far.”
While it’s not unusual for Chicago to have a rainy summer, this much rain is abnormal for the region, according to Kevin Donofrio, science and operations officer at the National Weather Service. From June 1 through Sept. 1, Chicago saw 15.38 inches of rain, which is 3.32 inches above average.
[email protected]. baiduhai reporter Allison Kiehl contributed to this article.