BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — It’s that time again, mosquitoes buzzing about and feeding on your bodies.
Heavy rain has left standing water in some areas making for the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“We have these other species called flood water mosquitoes, that’s the one that hatch off where they lay their eggs on moist soil and they come out in huge numbers,” said Interim Director for East Baton Rouge’s Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control Randy Vaeth.
The heat is on and with more rain in the forecast, you can expect to see more of the critters buzzing around.
“Heavy rain and 10 to 14 days later, you have mosquitoes. Higher temperatures make the progress from egg to adult shorter. They grow faster,” said Vaeth.
“We’re talking that soil moisture is just super saturated so it doesn’t allow that water to drain as quickly. You need that and you need evaporation to get some of that water out of our ditches, out of our basins,” said BR Proud’s Chief Meteorologist Jesse Gunkel.
As mosquitoes multiply, you’ll begin to see mosquito spray trucks hitting the streets six times a week.
“It’s not based on any schedule, it’s based on what mosquitoes are being collected in the traps,” said Vaeth.
As mosquitoes swarm the areas, Vaeth says there are ways to protect yourself.
“Emptying the tire, drilling a hole in it, dumping the bird baths. We tell people too, try not to be active when the mosquitoes are active.
TIPS:
- Wear bug repellent.
- Purchase mosquito-repelling plants.
- Avoid mosquito hot-spot areas.
- Wear the right type of clothing.
- Avoid areas with standing water.
- Keep standing water away from your home.
- Wear light colors.
- Avoid certain times of the day.
If you would like to contact Mosquito Abatement & Rodent Control, click here