While the drought has left lawns and creek beds parched, it's cut down on the number of the blood-thirsty pests that typically attack this time of year.

"The flood water mosquito is virtually nonexistent," Shawn Moore, with the Marion County Mosquito Control, told RTV6's Stacia Matthews. "We're seeing hardly any of them in our traps."

But Moore said the kind of mosquito that carries West Nile virus is here.

"Those are the mosquitoes that we want to track closely because they can transmit West Nile virus. Those also are the mosquitoes that tend to do better during drought conditions," Moore said.

Positive samples of West Nile virus have been found in mosquitoes in Warren and Perry townships in recent weeks.

With little rain in the forecast, health officials are fighting back by intensifying their surveillance.

Mosquito Control will continue to fog neighborhoods to reduce the threat of being bitten.

Officials are asking residents to do their part to get rid of potential breeding grounds, such as water in abandoned pools, clogged gutters and old tires.

Even under the driest conditions, mosquitoes can still find breeding grounds.

"As little as a teaspoon can breed a couple dozen mosquitoes, so it takes very little water," Moore said.