Our unusually warm winter and spring and recent rainfall will mean a bumper crop of mosquitoes this year according to Terry Tuttle, Environmental Health Supervisor for the Summit County Health Department.

Tuttle tells AkronNewsNow " At this point we anticipate at least initially a higher number of mosquitoes than normal due to the very mild winter we had. There's going to be a lot of larval activity, probably early hatch-offs, but it's going to depend too on the weather we have from now on."

Tuttle says rainy weather will just make the problem worse. He says this is the first time in the many years he's worked for the health department that mosquitoes were hatching in March.

Terry Tuttle says better stock up on mosquito repellent. " Effective mosquito repellents are made up of an active ingredient called DEET. THat's a short name for a very long chemical, but it's always on the container. And you can use 10 to 20%, adults probably 30%, kids 10%, and no chemicals for infants," says Tuttle.

Mosquitoes can carry the West Nile Virus and other diseases.

He says the best way to reduce the mosquito population around your house is to remove any standing water that can turn into a breeding ground for the pests.

As for when the county's mosquito spraying program will begin, Tuttle says it depends on where they find concentrations of mosquitoes. "Our spray schedule is based on what we find out when we set our mosquito traps. So again that would be weather dependent. We don't set an early schedule. We got by what we find when we survey an area," says Tuttle.