We thought we were ahead of mosquitoes this summer

Like a winning baseball team, things can go from good to bad in a matter of two weeks at the end of summer.

Take the high mosquito population, for example.

East and West Dundee leaders weren't planning on spraying for mosquitoes. The weather was dry and the number of insects they had caught in traps was low.

They were winning the game and saving money.

Then, the August rains came and the score became bleak -- especially when it concerns the West Nile virus-spreading insects. More eggs were laid, and the threat of the potentially fatal disease increased.

"We sprayed on Sept. 5 and we're determining whether we should spray again," said Joseph Cavallaro, West Dundee village manager.

"We decided to spray on a health-and-safety basis. We're also continuing to drop (egg-killing pesticides) into basins."

That decision was made after two cases of West Nile virus were reported to Kane County Health Department employees. One person lives in Geneva, and the other in Elburn. Neither case was fatal, but it made the people sick enough to send them to hospital emergency rooms.

The symptoms of West Nile virus vary with the age and health of the person contracting it. People with strong immune systems feel like they have the stomach flu. Other people, such as the elderly, develop sore muscles, stiff joints, neck pain and confusion. Severe cases can cause brains to swell.

"All the rain we had will increase the general mosquito population," said Tom Schlueter, spokesman for the county's health department.

The warm weather that followed will increase the threat of mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus."

West Nile-infected mosquitoes breed in murky, calm water that is found in shady ponds and the rims of tires. It's the type of water the wind and rain can't stir up to drown the young mosquitoes.

This summer, East Dundee officials hadn't planned to spray. They were using the larvicide tablets, though. Spraying wasn't needed, said T.J. Moore, the interim East Dundee village administrator this summer.

At an estimated $6,000 per application of spray, it was expensive. But the more than 10 inches of rain the Northern Fox Valley received in August changed those officials' minds.

Now, they will hire a company to spray, said Frank Koehler, village administrator. And they will continue to use pesticide tablets to kill unhatched eggs.

The chemical that is sprayed kills airborne mosquitoes. Many of them don't carry the virus.

But it could keep people like Jessica Boston from losing blood from bites while doing her outdoor work for the Dundee Township Park District.

"The last six weeks have been horrible. They tell us to wear long pants and sleeves on a 90-degree day," she said. "How can you do that?"

Grin and bear it until the temperatures cool, Schlueter said. That should be this week.

And as for the end of this game? Like baseball, it should be over in October when a frost kills the eggs.