Residents urge end to helicopter mosquito spraying as Mundelein adopts Bird City USA resolution
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Summary
Residents told trustees that helicopter larvicide applications have sharply reduced backyard bird species and urged the village to stop the spraying; the board adopted a Bird City USA designation the same night and trustees and staff said the beautification committee will research habitat measures and spraying alternatives.
Eileen Grochowski, a Mundelein resident, read a written message from neighbors and addressed the board on Aug. 11 to call for an end to helicopter-based mosquito abatement applications she said were harming birds and insects. “There is an absolute correlation between the chemical spraying and the loss of all bird life in my yard,” Grochowski said, reading text from neighbors Carrie and Claude Garoche. Grochowski told trustees that before the first spraying she documented more than 36 species of birds in her yard; she said that within 48 hours after the first spraying the count fell to six species, and after a second spraying in July there were fewer than six. She described feeling respiratory constriction during a pass by a helicopter that made three passes over her neighborhood and said the product applied was a dry-pellet larvicide intended to kill mosquito larvae. The public comment preceded action by the board to adopt a resolution recognizing the village’s Bird City USA designation. Trustee Krensky moved to adopt the resolution; Trustee Brico seconded, and the resolution passed on a roll-call vote. A staff liaison to the beautification committee told the board that the committee is taking on Bird City USA work and that members will examine ways to enhance habitat. The liaison also acknowledged that other communities that contract with Clark (a mosquito control vendor identified in public remarks) have Bird City recognitions and suggested the committee could study how those villages balance mosquito control and bird habitat. Trustees did not direct staff at the Aug. 11 meeting to suspend contract spraying or to cancel existing pesticide contracts. Staff and the beautification committee indicated they would research alternatives and outreach; residents said they would be willing to serve on a committee to examine options. The board’s resolution creates a formal recognition of Bird City USA status; it does not, by itself, change mosquito-control contracts or village pesticide policy. Residents asking for policy changes said they will follow up with staff and the beautification committee for further consideration.