Grafton Trick-Or-Treating And EEE Risks

GRAFTON, MA — Halloween is right around the corner and Grafton is taking precautions to ensure kids and parents are safe while they walk door-to-door. While the town is not implementing any specific dates or times for trick-or-treating, it is offering suggestions to keep residents safe during the holiday.

The town suggests residents follow the five D's to avoid exposure to the Eastern equine encephalitis virus. The five D's include:

• DRESS in long sleeves and pants.
• Use DEET repellent.
• Remember that DAWN & DUSK are when mosquitoes most active.
• DRAIN water from containers.

On Halloween, the sun will set at about 5:42 p.m. Health officials believe the threat of mosquitoes will remain in Massachusetts until the first "hard" frost — which means several hours of temperatures at or below 28 degrees.

There have been several frosts so far this fall, but no hard frosts yet.

While cooler temperatures have moved into town, Grafton hasn't seen it's first frost, leaving residents at risk for mosquito bites that could transfer EEE virus.