Cool Temperatures Helped Keep Mosquito Numbers Low

Mosquitoes that hatched early thanks to April's flooding could have reached adulthood and begun biting this weekend. But cooler than normal temperatures and strong winds that followed helped halt their advance.

Mike Szyska is director of the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District in Wheeling. He says "we dodged a bullet" and that mosquito numbers are even below normal for this part of the season.

Szyska tells the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald that cooler temperatures slow the development of mosquitoes hatched by floodwater.

This type of biting mosquito is a nuisance but less of a concern in terms of disease.

The disease-carrying Culex mosquitoes that arrive during the hotter summer months are responsible for spreading West Nile virus. They may still be able to use remaining pockets of floodwater this summer.