Health officials in New York have detected the first of the season’s mosquitoes with West Nile virus.

Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, a Cornell University entomologist whose work focuses on integrated pest management, said in a release from Cornell, “For the most part, mosquito-borne illness incidence in the U.S. is fairly low. Even in 2016, it wasn’t very high, and that’s including West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, and other emerging diseases.

“So far, the only infected mosquito pools have been found in Staten Island. As the season progresses, we may see more locations that have mosquito samples with West Nile virus or another disease. It is good to be aware of those areas where positive mosquitoes have been found and protect oneself. However, not all counties in New York are sampling for mosquitoes and disease.”

People who go outdoors into parks, backyards, or places where there could be mosquito breeding should wear mosquito repellents, Gangloff-Kaufmann advises, noting that this is more to avoid the annoyance of being bitten than for disease transmission.

“We recommend that people who manage part or all of their property look for and dump standing water,” she went on. “A common breeding site is the gutters on a house, which might be clogged or crooked, and not draining properly. Gutters should be fixed to drain all standing water. Any container larger than a bottle cap can breed mosquitoes. People should look closely for dishes under plant pots, puddles in toys, tarps, buckets, and other small containers and dump out the water.

“A dry backyard with less shade is better for keeping mosquito populations down. Mow tall grass and maintain a neat yard. However, if the yard has gardens or if the neighbors have mosquito breeding habitat that is not addressed, a better option is self-protection using mosquito repellents.”