  The rapid spread of West Nile Virus (WNV) is a growing concern. With no
vaccines or specific medications available, prevention through mosquito control
is the only solution to curb the spread. Mosquito traps, used to detect viral
presence in mosquito populations, are essential tools for WNV surveillance. But
how do we decide where to place a mosquito trap? And what makes a good trap
location, anyway?
  We present a robust statistical approach to determine a mosquito trap's
ability to predict human WNV cases in the Chicago metropolitan area and its
suburbs. We then use this value to detect the landscape, demographic, and
socioeconomic factors associated with a mosquito trap's predictive ability.
This approach enables resource-limited mosquito control programs to identify
better trap locations while reducing trap numbers to increase trap-based
surveillance efficiency. The approach can also be applied to a wide range of
different environmental surveillance programs.
