NATCHEZ — It’s too early to know if Mississippi River flooding will increase the number of West Nile-carrying mosquitoes in the area, but it’s not too early to play it safe, a state health official said.

The Natchez Lions Club invited Sharon Sims from the Mississippi State Department of Health to their meeting Tuesday to speak on controlling the mosquito population and protecting yourself from mosquito bites.

“Last year, in the State of Mississippi, we had eight cases of West Nile Virus,” she said. “I am not sure what we are going to have this year, especially with the high waters we received from all the flooding.”

Sims said while there are currently mosquitoes out flying around now, the mosquito that carries the West Nile virus won’t be prevalent until after the flood waters begin to recede more.

“There are 58 types of mosquito in Mississippi, and only one carries West Nile,” she said.

Sims said the mosquito that carries West Nile is known as the vector mosquito.

“If the water is high, the vector won’t be a problem, but when the water begins to lower, then we will need to worry,” she said. “They breed in totally different areas than floodwaters.”

Vector mosquitoes breed in areas where water has been stagnant for days, such as old holes, swimming pools and ditches, Sims said.

“They love dirty, smelly yucky water,” she said.

Because the mosquitoes like to breed in stagnant pools of water, Sims said the best way to prevent West Nile from spreading is to make sure to never leave any pools of water out in your yard.

“Tires, swimming pools and other areas like that with water, that is where you are going to see diseases,” she said. “Cleaning up these areas is important, especially for lower lying areas.”

Sims said that while dumping out these pools of water can stop mosquitoes from hatching, they can survive hatch at a later date.

“There eggs can lay on top of some water or on the ground and sit there for a while,” she said. “When some more rain or water comes to the area, they can hatch then.”

Sims said to prevent this, the best thing to do is to add “mosquito dunks��� into the stagnant pool of water.

“These dunks come in donut shape or granular form, and you just place them in the water,” she said. “They do not allow any eggs to hatch, and they can protect that one pool of water for up to three months.”

Sims also said putting three to five gambusia fish in the pool of water will fix the problem, because the fish eat the mosquito larva in the water.

“These two methods work great and they help the spread of mosquitoes by killing them in the larva stage,” she said. “It is a lot easier to kill them at that stage, so treating these pools of water is important.”

Sims said the mosquito dunks are not hazardous for pets to drink.

To avoid getting bit by mosquitoes, Sims said one of the most important things to do is to always make sure you wear insect repellant on areas of skin that are not clothed.

“Any product containing DEET is the most effective,” she said.

Sims said DEET comes in a number of repellants, and that anyone of them will work no matter what percentage DEET is in the product.

“The more percentage of DEET in a product, the longer protected you will be,” she said.

“Products with 7 to 10 percent DEET would protect you for a couple of hours.”

Sims also said products containing IR3535, Picardin and oil of lemon Eucalyptus offer a more natural repellant to mosquitoes.

“DEET is still the best,” she said.

Sims said some other options to avoid mosquitoes include wearing long sleeves and pants when possible, and to wear lighter clothing because mosquitoes are attracted to darker material.

Sims said the vector mosquitoes mainly come out during the mornings and evenings, and avoiding going outside during those times is also a key step in avoiding mosquito activity.

“You need to limit your outdoor activities from the hours of dusk until dawn,” she said. “That is when the mosquitoes carrying the diseases will be out.”

Sims wanted to again stress the importance of not leaving any water just sitting out in your yard.

“All it takes is a water bottle cap full of water for mosquitoes to lay their eggs in,” she said.

Sims said there has already been one confirmed case of West Nile this year in northern Mississippi, and that the rest of the mosquito season is still a mystery.

“The active peak season for West Nile is August through September,” she said. “We had eight cases last year, and hopefully with all the information going around about how to be safe, we will have less this year.”

Sims said to remember that wearing mosquito repellant every time you go outside is the best way to avoid any danger from mosquitoes.