Plague of flies disrupts daily life in Malaga's Guadalhorce valley

In the district of El Sexmo, in Cártama, residents have been experiencing significant discomfort for several weeks due to a plague of flies. They argue that the flying insects have invaded homes, businesses and public spaces, causing health problems and an intolerable atmosphere. The infestation has affected the local school and also the town's hospitality industry, which has been forced to stop serving tables on its many terraces due to being unable to attend to customers while maintaining minimum conditions of hygiene.

Chesco Serrano is one of the local residents affected. Although he acknowledges that "the situation has calmed down this past week", they have had a difficult month due to this infestation of small flies. This Cártama local shared an anecdote on the situation: "My youngest son, who's at school, told me 'Dad, we've been having a contest to see who could catch and kill the most'."

Serrano also stated that both local businesses and residents in general were very upset over this situation, which he described as out of the ordinary: "You'd leave the window open for a second and about 20 flies would come into the house. It was horrible."

In turn, Cártama town hall suggests that this may be a "cloud of insects" coming from nearby countryside, a natural phenomenon that has reached this particular neighbourhood and is now swarming there, much like "bees swarm around a hive". It also points to the influence of weather conditions, as the unusual heat for this time of year may be favouring the proliferation of insect larvae and the presence of adult flies in unusually high numbers. The municipal authority commented that these types of situations can occur in rural areas, much in the same way as mosquitoes do in summer.

In fact, Cártama's mayor himself, Jorge Gallardo, confirmed to SUR that the town hall has already taken some initial steps to try to control the situation. Bait-traps have been placed in the area around the school and cleaning and disinfection has been carried out over the weekend with the aim of reducing the presence of these flying insects.

He noted that "there seem to be fewer flies now" and the situation is starting to improve. Gallardo added that, for now, no clear source for the proliferation of these flies has been detected. Still, if the problem persists, he said that "we will have to investigate whether there is a proliferation of larvae or another specific cause".

The mayor was adamant that the town hall will remain "alert to developments" and will act "depending on what happens", stressing that it is not always possible to respond immediately when faced with this type of natural phenomenon. He also asked for residents' cooperation in avoiding having containers of water in patios or gardens that could encourage the appearance of insects. Gallardo pointed out that "flies seek shade and shelter from the heat" and that it is normal for them to approach houses in search of cooler spaces, especially in the kind of rural setting like El Sexmo.

For its part, the Cártama branch of the Partido Popular (PP, People's Party) has submitted a formal petition to the town hall demanding immediate and effective action to put an end to the infestation. The PP spokesperson, Pedro Pardo, described the situation as "unsustainable" and warned that the problem could be related to deficiencies in the sewage system or uncontrolled discharges of waste, calling for an urgent investigation. "We cannot look the other way in the face of an issue that directly affects public health and the well-being of hundreds of families. The council must act without delay to eliminate the source of the problem," stated Pardo.

The PP has also demanded that cleaning and disinfection be strengthened throughout the district and that local residents be kept informed in a transparent manner about the actions being taken. "The residents of El Sexmo deserve a response and solutions now", stressed the PP representatives. Furthermore, the local party reps reiterated their commitment to continue denouncing the lack of attention and resources in the districts belonging to this municipality, demanding that preventive measures be adopted to prevent situations like this happening again in the future.