WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)— It’s that time of year again when we can expect to start seeing more and more of those pesky, annoying insects. Yes, we’re talking about the dreaded mosquitoes that bug us every year.

Environmental Health Administrator, Samantha Blair, said the past couple of years mosquitoes haven’t really been a big concern or problem, but so far this year with the amount of rain we’ve already received, we could be in for a pretty annoying summer.

The weather is warming up and more and more families are taking to the outdoors to soak up the sun, but they’re not the only ones out and about this time of year.

“May is typically our first really down-in-the-trenches mosquito month, our mosquito season starts about March, but May is really when we see the activity pick up,” Blair said.

Something you may have noticed if you’ve visited a park or gone for a walk over the past week, and with the mosquito population expected to increase over the summer, Blair said to make sure you’re prepared when going outdoors and bring plenty of bug spray.

“Make sure you are reading the labeled instructions for how to apply and how often to reapply, any time you’re going to be doing any activities outside, especially activities where you’re going to be stirring up resting mosquitoes, such as mowing the grass, we recommend wearing long sleeves and long pants and apply bug spray,” Blair said.

Resting mosquitoes that Blair said you can prevent from having in the first place.

“The number one thing that we can do to stop mosquitoes is reduce the places where they can grow, they need water in order to have their life cycle, so look around your house in your yard, look for any trash, buckets barrels, or containers that could hold water, dump drain and wipe the sides of those so that we’ll stop breeding mosquitoes,” Blair said.

And if you suspect you may have a pretty severe mosquito problem around your residence?

“You call, you leave a message with where the issue is what kind of problem it is if its a certain time of day, all of that helps us know how to tackle the problem better,” Blair said.

Blair said the faster you act, could have a big impact on the growing mosquito population overall.

If you have a mosquito problem around your house or in your neighborhood and would like the health department to come spray in your area, Blair said to call (940) 761-7890.