The Village of Pingree Grove conducts mosquito fogging each year, and we are initiating fogging tonight, June 5, 2020 (weather permitting). Tonight’s fogging will be late in the evening hours, to avoid conflict with any planned events and to maximize effectiveness of the program (as described below).
Our mosquito abatement program is based on a scientific approach to the issue. We employ mosquito traps that are monitored on a weekly (or more often) basis, to determine actual mosquito population density in the community. Of note, only female mosquitoes bite. When the female mosquito count is high enough, we activate fogging. The fogging chemicals are very expensive, and thus, we only activate the process when it is warranted based on actual mosquito counts.
The fogging truck drives a prescribed route through the residential streets in the Village. The insecticidal fogging chemical is only effective on mosquitoes that it has contact with. This means that the fogging will likely not be effective against mosquitoes that are congregating in residential backyards, or in wooded areas. By law, we are prohibited from fogging around the perimeter of ponds and lakes because of the potential adverse impact on fish and wildlife.
Both rain and wind have an adverse impact on the effectiveness of the fogging. Accordingly, if it is breezy or raining, we will delay the fogging to another day when it is calm and dry.
We do mosquito abatement fogging at night, as this is the most effective time for application of the fog, to have maximum effect on mosquitoes. It also coincides with a period of reduced resident activity in the streets. While our fogging application is done by properly trained personnel, we do discourage personal contact with the fogging chemical. (This means that if you are out walking or biking in the vicinity of the fogging truck, we will turn off the fog until we are a safe distance past you). Avoiding the fogging truck enables us to do a more complete application throughout the Village.
We have created GPS routing for the truck and we know the precise amount of time it takes to traverse the Village, as well as the mileage involved. We regularly check and confirm that our applications are being conducted at the optimal speed to ensure maximum effectiveness and cost-efficiency.
Of note, there are no "natural transmission" cases of the Zika virus anywhere in the state of Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois is considered to be at a very low risk of Zika transmission, and cases of Zika in Illinois are related to travel to areas of higher incidence. In fact, for the past 2 years, there have been no mosquito-borne transmissions of the Zika virus in the entire continental United States.
Most species of mosquito have the ability to fly 1-3 miles. The Village of Pingree Grove has large naturalized areas in the vicinity (including Kane County Forest Preserve maintained marsh and wetland areas) that are well within that 1-3 mile radius. This means that whatever steps the Village takes for mosquito abatement, we are unable to fully control the population of mosquitoes in the area that are within "flight and bite" distance of the Village. However, we do our best to try to mitigate the local impacts, and to keep our community comfortable and safe!