• The ultimate weapon against cockroaches in cities

Just a few years ago the tiger mosquito was a complete stranger in Spain. But, as it expanded its domains along the Mediterranean coast, it became one of the usual references of the summer. Its bite, more intense than that of the traditional mosquito and capable of crossing the clothes, can transmit dangerous diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and even yellow fever.

The Valencian administrations have tried to stop its proliferation since the first specimen was seen, although its ability to adapt to any environment has allowed it to settle in practically every corner of the Valencian Community.

The problem, they indicate from the municipal pest control contract of the Valencia City Council, is that the tiger mosquito just needs a little water to reproduce (enough moisture accumulated in a pot after irrigation). A singularity that prevents municipal technicians from keeping the tiger mosquito population in the city under control, since its range of action exclusively covers the public thoroughfare and the outbreaks are often located in private areas .

"The leftover water in a pot or a puddle on a plot is enough for the tiger mosquito to reproduce and they are conditions that occur many times in private enclosures where we cannot act despite having found that there is a focus," sources explain of the contract.

Given this situation, the Valencia City Council is finalizing the drafting of a new Health Ordinance that obliges the owners of any building in the city to eliminate any possible focus of the spread of the tiger mosquito. The text includes different ranges of sanctions ranging from 25 to 3,000 euros in the case of very serious situations in which the owners do not meet the requirements of the administration.

"The objective is not to sanction but to make people aware that they have to take measures against the tiger mosquito. The normal thing will be to warn and inform, but the ordinance also stipulates sanctions if necessary," explains the Councilor for Health Valencia, Emiliano García .

A will repeated by Lokímica's technicians, the municipal pest control contract, who has an impact on the need to stop any breeding center. "We are not going to go to a community of owners where nothing happens to denounce. But we need a tool to control spaces where spotlights such as solar or abandoned buildings are detected . We had calls warning of a tiger mosquito and then we detected that they were proliferating in their own private scuppers, "they explain from Lokímica.

The risks of not adequately preventing this type of mosquito are enormous, as they explain from Lokímica, since they can transmit very serious diseases. Once, in fact, a neighbor who had contracted a virus disease potentially transmitted by the insect during a trip was found in a community of owners. "It is no nonsense to maintain control in our own homes. Sometimes we think the problem is outside and we do not address a possible focus within our homes," they explain.

And, the same reservoir of conditioned air water , if you spend enough time and accumulates organic substances, may end up becoming the refuge for larvae that may spread the problem in the future.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Valencian Community
  • Spain
  • Valencia
  • Health

SociedadFundación Aquae, UA and Hidraqua will investigate sustainable development and water

Courts reopen the case of the death of a young man with Down syndrome in a camp

Education The TSJ guarantees that students from private universities do internships in public hospitals