Officials in both Bogalusa and Franklinton said they are combating the mosquito problem as best as they can.

Mosquitoes thrive after heavy rains as well as rising temperatures. The West Nile virus and other diseases are directly transmitted by mosquito bites.

Bogalusa Public Works Director James Hall said his department is trying to stay on top of the problem.

“Right now, we’ve got one truck spraying for mosquitoes four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon,” Hall said. “That’s when mosquitoes are most active, at dawn and at dusk.”

Hall said trucks spray from 4 to 8 a.m. and start again at dusk for another four hours.

“We’ve been using one truck right now because of all the rain, but the first of next week when it stops raining, we plan to start the second truck,” he said.

Hall said there are a number of ways citizens can protect themselves from mosquito bites.

“The main thing people can do right now is keep all the water out of their yard by keeping their yard cut,” Hall said. “People should wear light-colored long-sleeve clothing. They need to wear Yard Guard Mosquito Spray. That works for a small area for 30 or 45 minutes, but the best thing for people to do is stay inside from dusk until dawn.”

Hall said mosquito spray should contain DEET. He said the higher the number, the more effective it is.

Franklinton Public Works currently sprays for mosquitoes twice per week.

“We spray the whole town twice per week unless we’ve had excessive rain,” Franklinton Mayor Wayne Fleming said. “The spraying two times per week pretty much contains them. All the rain we’ve had creates some problems. But we try and work around that.”

Fleming suggested citizens dump standing water out of buckets near homes so mosquitos won’t have an opportunity to breed. Other breeding grounds for mosquitoes include grill covers, children’s swimming pools, birdbaths and flower pots.