In the midst of the conflict over the garbage rate in the neighborhoods of the Community of Madrid, a new neighbor appears among the garbage bags and containers. The rat proliferation It has ceased to be an anecdote and has become a reality, becoming an increasingly widespread concern.
The accumulation of wastethe abandonment of green areas and deficiencies in urban cleaning have created the perfect breeding ground for these rodents, carriers of diseases and causing damage to buildings.
The last to join the list of those affected has been the central neighborhood of Chueca, specifically the Pedro Zerolo Squareconverted into one of the most obvious sources of the plague. “I go out a lot to deliver orders, I’m always seeing them. Of all colors and sizes,” one resident told Telemadriddescribing how these animals jump out of uncovered garbage cans.
“I have seen about 20 or 22,” confessed another. Rats live in areas close to their food sources, which could explain their growth in the heart of the neighborhood. “There are many businesses here that throw away a lot of cardboard and a lot of waste… There is a lot of homelessness, there is a lot of garbage and they leave all the remains of everything there,” explained a merchant.
But the presence of rats is not limited to the center of the capital. In neighborhoods like Arganzuela, Legazpi and Carabanchelneighbors have warned about the proliferation of rodents and the associated health risks. Even in El Capricho (Alameda de Osuna), concern increases due to the proximity of a school.
Nuria, a resident of the area, assured The Spanish Newspaper: “I have even seen children running after them, as if it were a game. This has to stop or one day we will all regret it“”They are already part of the landscape,” said another resident.
For the most part, it is brown ratscapable of carrying pathogens that can cause salmonellosis, leptospirosis or encephalitis, and that surprise neighbors with their ability to climb trees and build nests in high places.
The Arroyo de los Sauces urbanization, in Alpedrete, has also suffered the effects of the plague. Marifé, a resident, reported in ABC: “I’ve been living here for 27 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.” Rodents have caused damage ranging from chewed power lines to internet outages, and have been found dead rats in the pool community.
Elena, another neighbor, explained: “They bite the light cables and they leave us without focus. At first it was only one, but now there are six of the twelve in the house.” The administration has carried out extraordinary deratization campaigns, checking baits in basements, garages and common areas, and has requested the City Council to collect daily garbage.
The greatest danger in these neighborhoods occurs in summer. The high generation of waste and high temperatures forces rats to get out of the sewersaccording to the council, which has announced the tender for a new cleaning contract at a cost of 1.2 million euros per year for 12 years.
