It has been so hot and dry in Athens these past few weeks, residents have reported seeing swarms of mosquitoes turning on water hoses to cool off.

Seriously, though, one might think mosquitoes wouldn’t stand a chance during this oppressive, blazing summer. Not so.

Public Works Director James Rich said Thursday crews have been monitoring mosquito counts in the city and have determined the counts are high enough to continue spraying for approximately two or three more weeks. Should the mosquito count go down with the cooler weather expected next week, the city could curtail spraying. It all comes down to the numbers.

Rich said dry weather does tend to reduce mosquito populations because they must have water of some form. Each week, crew members check the number of mosquitoes biting within the city’s four or five spraying routes to determine whether to spray.

“They have to meet certain count requirements — ‘X’ number of bites in 10 minutes — in order to spray in that area,” Rich said.

This process starts in mid-April or mid-May and continues until the end of September or mid-October, or about five months, he said.

“During the dry season, we see a reduction in the number of mosquitoes, but it’s whether they meet that threshold,” he said. “If so, they continue to spray. If they are not breeding, then there is no need to spray.”

Years ago, cities would simply spray mosquitoes in various areas without regard to how many were actually biting. Now, Athens and other cities spray pesticides in various areas only when a certain number of mosquitoes are biting. The change was meant to be healthier for humans.