City Sprays Mosquito-Killing Insecticide Amid West Nile Concerns

Weather permitting, the spraying will start at dusk in parts of Austin, Belmont-Cragin, Dunning and Montclare and will last until about 1 a.m.

City public health officials will spray insecticide on the West and Northwest sides Wednesday night to kill adult mosquitoes in an effort to combat the West Nile virus.

Weather permitting, the spraying will start at dusk in parts of Austin, Belmont-Cragin, Dunning and Montclare and will last until about 1 a.m., according to a statement from the Chicago Department of Public Health. It is the city’s first such spraying of the season.

The spraying will take place between in the area bordered by Belmont, Central, North and Harlem avenues, according to the health department.

Licensed technicians in trucks will be spraying an insecticide called Zenivex at a rate of 1.5 ounces per acre, the health department said. It has been approved by the EPA for mosquito control in outdoor residential and recreational areas and is routinely used across the country.

“Spraying to kill adult mosquitoes is a sensible and effective component of an integrated pest management program,” CDPH Environmental Health Medical Director Dr. Cort Lohff said in the statement. “It is our expectation that this effort will further limit the mosquito population and prevent cases of human illness in Chicago.”

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