the ideal cocktail for pests to proliferate in Madrid

ANECPLA recalls that the rainwater will be added to that of the thaw of the historic snowfall Filomena, which can cause a considerable increase in the flow in the drains, already half blocked by the remains of trees, bushes and scattered garbage, as many neighbors have denounced on social networks.

The secretary general of ANECPLA, Milagros Fernández Leceta warns that "if you do not act quickly, the accumulation of waste and the expected rain can generate a situation of high risk for public health, by promoting the proliferation of rats, cockroaches, and other urban pests with the capacity to transmit vector diseases such as salmonellosis, dysentery, leptospirosis and many others.

As this newspaper explained just 48 hours ago, many streets of the capital have not seen the garbage truck go by for up to ten days, which implies a significant accumulation of remains that have not been removed. With rain, these debris can end up spilling if they are not removed before the rains arrive.

"It is essential that we limit this problem and that we all act against it. We need governments to invest all possible efforts and resources in clearing public areas of garbage and waste in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile, we also make an appeal to the population so that, as far as possible, they generate the least amount of waste they can and take out your rubbish less frequently until services are fully restored ", said Milagros Fernández de Lezeta.

For his part, the president of ANECPLA, Sergio Monje, explained that the presence of scattered organic remains "is a delicacy for rats and cockroaches"These animals, which are capable of adapting to a very wide range of temperatures and hiding in the most inhospitable places, feed on any abandoned food and are favored by the humidity that the rains will generate, as well as by the rise of temperatures.

In this sense, Monje points out that "the presence of garbage bags and other waste on public roads for a longer time, in addition to being susceptible to being opened by stray animals and their content scattered on the sidewalks, are the perfect factor for plague species such as those mentioned, transmitters of important diseases proliferate dangerously ".

A few days ago the journalist Mamen Mendizábal warned of a video where four rodents are seen coming out of a terminal and moving through the snow of a street.

For its part, the City Council ensures that it has not received any complaint about rats and the mayor, Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida, promised on monday the streets would be clean the moment it started to rain. However, La Sexta denounced this Tuesday that the garbage is still in the middle of the road.

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