Skeeter solutions: On World Mosquito Day, here are tips on how to avoid bites

As commemorations go, World Mosquito Day is rather inauspicious. Observed on Aug. 20, it marks Dr. Ronald Ross' 1897 discovery that mosquitoes transmit the parasite that causes malaria. Scientists subsequently linked West Nile virus and Zika to mosquitoes, making them far more than just a nuisance.

With Chicago ranking second on Orkin's list of U.S. cities where mosquitoes pose the biggest health problem — right behind Los Angeles — suburbanites have their hands full staving off late-season skeeters.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continental U.S. and its territories are home to more than 200 types of mosquitoes that breed from May through September and typically become active when the temperature rises above 68 degrees overnight.

Northern Illinois' mosquito season and severity is entirely weather related, said Laura McGowan, spokeswoman for Clarke, a mosquito control company in St. Charles. Heavy rains bring floodwater mosquitoes, a nuisance pest known for aggressive biting, McGowan said, adding that floodwater mosquitoes lay eggs that can remain dormant for years. McGowan compared them with Culex mosquitoes, which thrive in high temperatures and low precipitation and carry the West Nile virus.

“It's been a mixed bag this summer from one municipality to the next,” McGowan said. “Depending on where rain lines were, you could have one community fighting off Culex and their neighbors dealing with a big hatch-off of aggressive biters.”

To avoid bites, McGowan and other experts recommend taking precautions such as wearing loosefitting long-sleeve shirts and long pants. Experts also recommend using an EPA-registered mosquito repellent containing products such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

At home, experts say, you should remove whatever items collect water in your yard — including bird baths, kiddie pools, watering cans, pots and gardening tools. Cleaning debris from gutters, which can serve as breeding grounds, also helps.

“Mosquitoes tend to stay local. The more you do to reduce their breeding areas, the greater impact you'll have,” McGowan said.

McGowan has one final suggestion to keep mosquitoes at bay since they can't fly in the wind.

“If you're outside in the evening when mosquitoes are active, put out a box fan,” she said.