Mosquito Abatement

We, Lisle Township, have begun our annual efforts to minimize mosquito populations, reduce the risk of West Nile Virus transmission, and preserve the overall comfort and quality of life of our residents. 

The Township has contracted with St. Charles-based Clarke to provide our community with an integrated mosquito management program. This includes: 

  • Ongoing surveillance to monitor overall mosquito population levels and detect the presence of mosquito-borne disease like West Nile Virus 

  • Mapping known mosquito breeding sites throughout the community 

  • Applying larval control products to known or active mosquito breeding sites such as catch basins, storm drains and standing water sites.  Larval control products (larvicides) work to control mosquitos in the aquatic larval stage. Larvicides are effective at suppressing overall mosquito populations and preventing the hatch-off of flying, biting adults. This will include prehatch larviciding treatments via helicopter at strategic times during the breeding season to prevent mosquito larvae in open waters from developing into flying, biting adults. 

  • Larval mosquito control options for residents to use in backyard ponds, bird baths, planter saucers, and more can be found at local home good stores such as Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, or ACE Hardware. Please review label instructions use accordingly.  

  • Adult mosquito control treatments to quickly reduce adult populations when surveillance indicates a rise in populations or the presence of a mosquito-borne disease like West Nile Virus. This involves applying a very small amount of an EPA-registered adult mosquito control product (an adulticide) though an ultra-low-volume sprayer.  The sprayer creates a fine mist of tiny droplets that move through the air and work by making physical contact with adult mosquitoes in-flight. The treatments are scheduled during the evening hours when mosquitoes are most active. 

Within Illinois, mosquitoes have been known to carry West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, LaCrosse encephalitis, and Eastern and Western equine encephalitis. Culex mosquitoes are the primary vector of these diseases, particularly WNV. The Aedes mosquito has been reported to carry diseases such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and other viruses in tropical and subtropical climates, but mainly acts as a nuisance to residents after heavy rainfalls or flooding in the Midwest. Surveillance via mosquito traps and PCR-testing can reveal whether local mosquito populations are carrying these diseases and additional mosquito control treatments are needed.  

To help reduce the total number of mosquitoes in the area, residents should do their part in source reduction – reducing the habitats mosquitoes need to lay eggs and for larvae to develop. This can be done by removing standing from natural or artificial containers such as bird baths, children’s toys, abandoned tires, buckets, tree holes, or other debris in which water accumulates. To be most effective, this should be done about every four days during the summer season.  

Residents should also use mosquito repellents containing DEET or picaridin according to the product label instructions when outdoors during the mosquito season.  

For more information about mosquito control, visit www.Clarke.com.  

Any resident that lives in a community that contracts with Clarke for its mosquito services can also access the Clarke Portal’s Resident Hotline to report standing water or nuisance mosquito activity online and request pre-treatment notifications via email or text. To enroll, please call 1-800-942-2555 or visit www.clarkeportal.com/hotline.