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Mosquito tidbits: First wave will hit in mid-May

Mosquito-related things we learned while working on this report:

• The mild and relatively dry winter was good for mosquito reproduction, but Clarke Environmental of St. Charles isn't ready to say the summer will be especially bad. The heat during the week of April 20-27 followed by rain, however, does not "bode well" for avoiding the biters when the first wave hits in mid-May, said Dave McLaughlin, vice president of marketing for Clarke. The company fights mosquitoes in 48 countries.

• Different kinds of mosquitoes like different kinds of environments. One of the species that transmits Zika, for example, likes to live in urban areas, including inside houses, and breed in containers. It can do so in something as small as a bottle cap.

• Transportation and storage of used tires has been cited as one of the ways in which mosquitoes travel and thrive. So Illinois instituted a $2.50-per-tire fee on the sale of new tires, with the money going to the Used Tire Fund. Part of it funds efforts to properly dispose of used tires. Twenty-five percent is designated for the state public health department, which is supposed to spend it on programs to fight bugs, birds and mammals that spread disease.

The department has done this by giving money to counties. They have focused on mosquitoes, due to the spread of West Nile virus.

But, like with many other things involving the state, what has been promised to the counties is not what was delivered last year. Grants of less than $10,000 were paid in full. But others promised more received only 25 percent of what they expected. For example, the Kane County Health Department was promised $94,198 last April but has received only $23,550, according to spokesman Tom Schlueter. The county will keep its mosquito-fighting efforts as is, covering costs out of reserves. "Obviously, this can't be sustained," Schlueter said.

International Planned Parenthood Federation has cited the Zika virus as an example of how discouraging the use of contraception in South America, by law and by social custom, adversely affects women and children. And in Venezuela last year, a shortage of condoms led to prices as high as $750 a package, according to Bloomberg News.

• There is an Illinois Mosquito and Vector Control Association. The name of one of its newsletters? "Small Bites."

  Mosquito larvae are separated at Clarke Environmental in St. Charles. The firm does mosquito-eradication work, and tests what kinds of products are effective on different species of mosquitoes at various stages of their lives. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
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