The black rat threatens Madrid: 35 outbreaks already detected

It appears among trees and gardens, and most have been reported near Méndez Álvaro.

Has made a call to the public not to deposit food or waste on public roads and thus contribute to curb the spread of the black rat.

This animal is reproducing at high speed around the Méndez Álvaro bus station in Madrid and has already been spotted among the trees.

Experts point out that this expansion is occurring "very rapidly" in some areas and cities in Spain such as Madrid, with a dozen outbreaks detected and controlled in 2019, reaching 35 as of today. "This animal is responsible for transmitting 'serious' diseases such as leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis or hantavirus."

The black rat can transmit diseases and that is one of the reasons why we are trying to alleviate the situation, with pest management companies in collaboration with the various municipalities. José María Cámara, veterinarian, has insisted on the need to carry out "rapid action from the first detection", in addition to the necessary collaboration between all areas involved: City Council and pest management companies of course, but it is also important to establish synergies with the citizens themselves, the workers of parks and gardens". He also added that, with the rat, we are facing a specimen that moves through gardens and green areas near schools, with an intense traffic of people, so it greatly complicates its management.

Sergio Monge, an expert, appeals to the public to try to prevent both pigeons and stray cats: "no citizen should feed pigeons or stray cats on the public highway, and those food and food scraps left on the street are what undoubtedly attract black rats, encouraging their expansion and reproduction".

"In addition to the black rat management treatments that are already being carried out by pest management companies in collaboration with the various municipalities, it is very important that the citizens of the capital carry out waste management with the utmost civility, in order to avoid and reduce sources of garbage that can attract this type of animal," he concluded.

Recommendations

On the website of the Madrid City Council has enabled a guide to help all those who want to know what to do or what is effective for the black rat does not reappear on the streets. Some of the recommendations are as follows:
Extreme care with waste management (as we have just commented), this is the cornerstone of the prevention of rats in the city; repair and seal all those cracks or fissures that could allow access of these animals; extreme care in the storage of food, frequent favorite target of these rodents; have warehouses, storage rooms, tidy and properly supervised; indoors should be the professionals responsible for establishing the diagnosis of the situation and make recommendations and treatments that are deemed appropriate.

This rodent, apparently harmless, is actually one of the hundred most harmful invasive alien species in the world. This has been confirmed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Adult specimens weigh between 150 and 250 grams, measure between 16 and 22 centimeters, without cutting its tail, and its fur can be gray. It is native to Asia and extremely agile. It has an amazing reproductive capacity especially in urban environments and with abundant food can reach up to six litters a year and have up to 18 offspring at each birth.