DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Summer is the perfect time for an outdoor feast, not only for people, but insects as well.

The sound of life can be heard through the woods, equally populated with ticks and mosquitoes. As air becomes thicker and humid in the summer, numbers of both will increase, but for mosquitoes there are ways to reduce the number in your backyard.

Larry Shaffer, Director of Environmental Health at the Clark County Combined Health District, said, “Anything that holds a pocket of water. Clean your gutters out because the standing water is where mosquitoes lay their eggs and they reproduce quickly.”

While it will reduce the number of mosquitos it will not eliminate them.

Shaffer said, “People need to wear mosquito repellent and wear long sleeves when practical and time your activities. So that you’re doing things not in the times of, you know, mosquito activity.”

Hitting the trails can be a great way to stay healthy, but experts warn to examine from head to toe when done, as a new tick has exploded in numbers in the Miami Valley.

Shaffer said, “The thing about the blacklegged tick is we never used to see that here in West central Ohio, but now it is prevalent within the last few years.”

If you are bit, remove it with a tweezer between the body and your skin, and monitor symptoms for Lyme Disease.

Shaffer said, “Especially Lyme disease is the bull’s eye, rash of fever, headache, muscle, muscle aches, joint pain, that kind of thing. You want to get to the doctor right away, especially if you see that rash because you’ll get the antibiotics and get that taken care of.”

The Clark County Combined Health District will begin testing their 16 traps for West Nile virus later in May.