Expats In Spain Warned About Invasion Of Aggressive Tiger Mosquitoes

Expats and locals in the Costa Blanca are being warned of a tiger mosquito invasion.

As if the worst floods in 140 years weren’t enough, expats and locals in the affected areas of the Costa Blanca are now being warned over an expected invasion of up to a billion aggressive tiger mosquitoes. The massive inundation of flood waters is now receding, leaving vast numbers of muddy lagoons acting as perfect breeding grounds for the dangerous insects which act as carriers for the Zika virus and Dengue fever. The aggressive pests are expected to begin hatching over this weekend, and are known to attack in huge swarms.

Emergency crews in the Costa de Calida are working day and night across the still-soaking fields in an attempt to stop the hatch taking place, and Elche and Alicante’s local governments have ordered the fumigation of vast sodden swathes of farmland and countryside in the hope the plague can be averted. The mosquitoes swarm and attack at night after feeding throughout the day to gather strength, and their flight patterns are totally different than those of other mosquito species. Rather than perching on house walls, their flight is fast, agile and directly aimed at victims’ lower limbs, making them almost impossible to kill. The pests are native to Southeast Asian countries, but are expected to spread across Europe as global warming intensifies.

Meanwhile, angry British expats campaign groups in Spain are calling for an increase in clarity and concrete information and a decrease in ‘gung-ho optimism’ as regards British expats’ positions after Brexit. The call came after campaign group representatives from EuroCitizens, ECREU and Bremain in Spain met with the UK’s Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay. Up for discussion were state pension uprates, citizens’ rights, healthcare and benefits, but it seems Barclay’s buzzword for the meeting was ‘intentions’ rather than a commitment to action on behalf of all UK expats in Spain.