Early blooms of azalea, bearded iris and daylilies still fill Vicksburg gardens and public green spaces as officials gear up for a second wave of allergens and insect-borne diseases.

“Everything is about four weeks ahead of schedule,” said city landscape director Jeff Richardson. “The daylilies are coming out now. That’s a month ahead. The lantana are out, The coreopsis is out. And the magnolia trees that are out usually don’t flower until Memorial Day.”

Flowers and trees sprouting a bit early have been more visually pleasing signs of a particularly aggressive spring allergy season. Pollen from Bermuda, St. Augustine and centipede grass will waft through the air this month as the back half of the South’s spring allergy season continues.

In March, the metro Jackson area rated fourth on a list of “Most Challenging Places to Live with Spring Allergies,” compiled by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The study calculated daily pollen spore counts, prevalence of allergy medicine use and certified allergist-to-population ratios.

As people flock to summertime pool parties and picnics, it’s more about pests than plants, experts say.

“Keep your grass cut low and keep trees and bushes cut back around your house to let in air and sunlight, because ticks are sensitive to drying out,” said Dr. Jerome Goddard, medical and veterinary entomologist with Mississippi State University Extension Service in a release on tick-borne diseases. “Keep the trees trimmed back around the house, and make sure you have sealed up any access points for animals to get in or under your house.”

Four diseases normally found in animals that can be spread to humans are prevalent in Mississippi — Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, West Nile virus and animal rabies.

Diseases caused by mosquitoes and ticks haven’t shown up in Warren County thus far in 2012, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health Office of Epidemiology.

Dr. Carlos A. Latorre, a family medicine physician at River Region Medical Center, said it’s not too early to prepare for dangerous maladies spread by ticks.

“If you find a tick on your body, or suspect you’ve been bitten, or you have spent time in areas populated by ticks and develop flu-like symptoms or a rash, seek medical help immediately,” Latorre said. “Prompt diagnosis and treatment can help prevent a potential long-term complications.”

Lyme, the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the U.S., starts with a red bump that grows into a round rash around the tick bite and can cause memory loss, mood changes, weak limbs, joint pain and meningitis. Five cases statewide were reported to health officials in 2011, up from none in 2010.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the most severe disease caused by ticks and is difficult to identify. Symptoms range from nausea and muscle pain to paralysis of the lower limbs. Cases in Mississippi fell to 24 last year, from 27 in 2010.

West Nile virus, carried by infected mosquitoes which originates in birds, was first reported in the South in 2002 after arriving on the East Coast three years earlier. It causes flu-like symptoms that can morph into meningitis or encephalitis and was regarded as a major public health threat when first reported in Mississippi. Cases spiked to 52 in 2011 from 8 in 2010, attributed to more winged pests that followed the record rise on the Mississippi River. However, none were reported in Warren County.

MSDH recommends people avoid places and times when mosquitoes bite, wear long sleeves and long pants when the insects are most active and use aerosol or lotion repellents with DEET or other recommended ingredients.