Wet summer creates mosquito breeding ground; West Nile Virus concerns rise

WHEATON, Ill. (WLS) -- The wet weather this summer creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes and Friday night there are concerns about both flood mosquitoes and those that carry the West Nile Virus.

As the heat of the summer arrives with outdoor summer activities, health officials are warning that those who are going to attend will need to take precautions.

It is a walk you don't take without precaution, long sleeves, long pants and bug repellant. The wooded lowland area of DuPage County is a perfect spot to catch mosquitoes.

The County Health Department has caught plenty, even some testing positive for West Nile Virus, and health officials predict many more.

"We expect that population of mosquitos really to explode right around that Fourth of July weekend," said Dave Hass, DuPage County Health Department.

A rainy spring and start to summer created conditions ideal for mosquitoes, and the type that carry West Nile Virus especially like stagnant water.

"We have so many mosquitoes this year that we are very concerned that it's just going to be a whole lot of West Nile virus, not only in the mosquitos, but human cases too," said Hass.

Some Wheaton residents have already noticed a buggy June.

"Backing up to the marsh, they can be very intense. I do a pretty good job, I spray my lawn once every one or two weeks, and that helps a lot," Dave Bradford said.

The difficulty is to the naked eye, most amateurs don't know which of the mosquitos are the dangerous ones and which are just a nuisance. Health officials are taking it seriously after they had 52 cases of West Nile virus in 2012, five of them were fatal.