TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- The battle of the bugs is waging, but efforts to go after breeding mosquitoes is being hampered by all the rain Central Florida has been seeing lately.

Regardless, officials are still being as proactive as they can.

  • Amid weather, Brevard officials get proactive about mosquito control
  • Goal: Knock down as many mosquito larvae as possible
  • Officials ask residents to scan properties for standing water

A Brevard Mosquito Control crew targeted a water filled ditch in a Titusville neighborhood Monday in between storms.

The goal was to knock down as many mosquito larvae as they can before the bugs grow up to be potentially big and spread disease.

It’s a good thing for Mark Hill, who spends a lot of time outdoors doing yard-work.

"They have always been out here taking care of business," Hill said.

But this year with so many frequent storms, it's been tough for crews to spray chemical larvicide from the air or the ground.

"A lot of times we wait it out, and the conditions are too bad to proceed with the spraying," said Joe Faella, Brevard Mosquito Control Director.

Crews are plugging the time gaps by pumping water into catch areas called impoundments -- filling up coastal salt marsh, ultimately preventing billions of mosquitoes from hatching.

They are also using the dryer earlier in the day to spray larvicide, targeting younger mosquitoes.

"We estimate that is at least half our mosquito problem in the entire county," Faella said. "As long as we prevent those mosquitoes from laying eggs, that's a lot right there."

In the meantime the county maintains 11 chicken coops across Brevard.

They are testing for west nile, eastern equine encephalitis and zika.

As Mother Nature continues to deliver wet weather, the bug battle wages on behind the scenes.

"I haven't been bitten," brags Hill. "Whatever they are doing, they are doing a good job."

Officials ask residents to scan their properties to dump containers full of standing water out.

It only takes a week for mosquitoes to breed in them and begin to fly and bite.