Dupage Policy Journal

The Village of Bolingbrook Board of Trustees voted its approval of a mosquito control contract at its April 25 meeting. 

The service agreement, which the village had budgeted $70,000 for during its current fiscal year, was an agreement with Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management Inc. The village has worked with Clarke for five years now, and the village officials were pleased that the contract presented this year was less than half of the budgeted amount, at a total cost of $34,260. This will include general service treatment, surveillance and monitoring and larva control on top of the three helicopter pre-hatch treatments.

“We also monitor mosquitoes in three places throughout town, which is included in this,” Lucas Rickelman, co-administator for the village, said. “And that's really kind of where we look at seeing what's going on. So that way, you know, we're not just getting a phone call saying there's a lot of mosquitoes and then going out and spraying. There's three different locations throughout town. It's monitored three times a week. We get the readings from the trap. There's a lot of other things that can go into deciding when to spray. The conditions have to be right overnight. Can't be too windy, can be cold out. They do use a natural product.”

Trustee Michael Lawler shared the contract details, and added that Clarke “can also do backpack barrier festival treatments for an additional cost of $564 per treatment” as well as reminding the council that these treatments “target mosquito larvae that carry the West Nile virus. So it's a very useful service. Clarke is the leader in the area for the service.” 

Trustee Sheldon Watts asked for some explanation of the sprayings and timelines so that residents might have access to the information that council had been supplied with.

Rickelman said that these treatments were not spraying all over the city and residential areas, and they were more of a targeted treatment of inlets so that larvae can’t grow and hatch. The mosquito levels are monitored and additional treatments made when necessary and appropriate. The spray is a natural product and will only be used in the right weather conditions and overnight, to avoid the highest degree of contract with any people or pets. 

The board was told this treatment is different than the Illinois State Department of Agricultural spraying for spongy moth that will occur in June, which is a very infrequent treatment done every few years upon inspection. That spraying is also completely harmless to all people, animals, and plants.

In other business, the board discussed reappointments to the village’s Fire Department Pension Board, reappointing Ricardo Morales and Bill Hearth.

The board will meet again at 7:30 p.m. on May 9 at 375 West Briarcliff Road.