How you can fight all the mosquitoes you're seeing

This summer's torrential downpours, coupled with more recent steamy temperatures, has created a comfortable atmosphere for the pesky, biting bugs that make enjoying the outdoors a little more challenging this time of year.

While it's not necessarily the worst summer on record for the presence of mosquitoes, those who fight the insect — from pest controllers to manufacturers selling the latest mosquito-fighting products — haven't let down their guard. And neither should you.

“It's rainfall and the temperatures. As (they) go up, mosquito activity increases,” said Mike Szyska, director of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District, a government agency that does nighttime spraying throughout a 272-square-mile area in the Northwest suburbs.

But rest assured, he says. “We'll continue the battle.”

The mosquito species most bothersome so far this year, according to experts, is the Aedes vexans, also known as the nuisance mosquito. More and more of those mosquitoes hatched after heavy rainfall in mid-June, because floodwaters make for attractive breeding grounds.

“Vex is an indication of how bothersome that species is,” Szyska said. “It's bothering everyone right now.”

Some traps the Wheeling-based district maintains throughout nine Cook County townships have yielded as many as 200 mosquitoes at a time. Szyska says people start noticing the presence of the flying pests about the time the district starts finding 35 per trap. During the worst summer he recalls, Szyska said some traps yielded more than 1,000 mosquitoes.

But just as increasing temperatures heat things up and the floodwaters recede, officials are bracing for many more of the nuisance mosquito's sister, the Culex mosquito — the kind responsible for West Nile virus.

Officials across the suburbs so far have reported fewer cases of mosquitoes with the virus than during past years.

“People are talking about how big and bad the mosquitoes are,” said Dave Hass, a spokesman with the DuPage County Health Department. “We're seeing big numbers of mosquitoes, but fortunately we don't have many with West Nile virus.”

So far this year, the virus has shown up in about 1 percent of mosquito batches tested statewide — an amount on par with the first six months of 2014, according to the state department of public health.

There haven't been any cases of humans contracting the virus this year, compared to 2014, when 44 human cases were reported, leading to four deaths.

So how best to combat mosquitoes?

Experts emphasize the tried and true remedies: Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, cover exposed skin with insect repellent, and get rid of standing water on your property.

But there are also new products on the market for consumers who want added protection.

Take, for example, shirts made with the mosquito-repellent chemical permethrin. The protection should last through six wash cycles or 80 hours of direct sunlight, according to David Lang, a product training specialist at Cabela's in Hoffman Estates.

This is the first year Cabela's is selling the shirts, which retail for about $80.

Should you choose to treat your own clothes with permethrin, stores sell quart-size spray bottles for about $15.

Another new product is a handheld device made by Thermacell that provides a 15-by-15-foot area of protection.

The devices come with replaceable pads containing a mosquito-repellent chemical, and each pad lasts up to four hours, Lang said.

Experts expect the presence of mosquitoes to taper off by September with expected cooler temperatures.

Products to fight mosquitoes

<b>Sprays</b>• Sprays containing the chemical DEET have proved most effective at fighting mosquitoes because of their lasting power and remain the biggest sellers

• More specialty stores such as Cabela's and REI have begun carrying organic repellents that contain everything from lemon eucalyptus oil to soybean oil.

<b>Clothing</b>• Outdoor retailers have begun selling shirts pre-treated with permethrin, a chemical woven into the fabric meant to repel mosquitoes and last through six washings. Retail price is about $80.

• The stores also sell bottles of the chemical to apply to your clothes for about $15 — just spray and let sit for two hours until dry.

<b>Outdoor items</b>• Mosquito repellent devices and lanterns, such as those made by Thermacell, promise relief from the bugs within a 15-by-15-foot zone, powered by butane cartridges that activate a repellent chemical in pads.

• Retail price is about $25. For backwoods campouts or trips to the jungle, old fashioned mosquito netting is big enough to cover cots and tents.

Sources: Cabela's in Hoffman Estates and REI in Schaumburg