Tenerife residents say years of warnings have been ignored and now millions of termites are threatening several towns and a World Heritage Site on the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands where hundreds of thousands of Brits holiday every year. Islanders are being kept awake at night by the insects toe-curling scuttling around their homes and some are even taking sedatives to deal with “panic attacks” and “through the roof stress levels”. Politicians are blaming an “unforgivable” lack of action on the control of goods, seeds and animals entering the island and are worried the termites could spread to other parts of the archipelago including Lanzarote, Fuerteventurea and Gran Canaria.
Nobody knows how the insects arrived on the islands but they are thriving in Tenerife’s year-round warmth and have so far infected La Laguna, Arona and Tacoronte.
Trapped resident Ana Valladares lives in the latter town and told Spanish newspaper El Pais she keeps a box of sedatives in her kitchen to help her cope with the situation.
She said: “I am under constant medical supervision.
“I’ve had multiple panic attacks and my stress levels are through the roof.”
In order to keep the termites away, Ana’s son, Jesús, has a daily ritual of pouring bleach all around their home’s crumbling door frame which is being eaten away by the pests.
He refuses to pay for an exterminator because “this is the result of City Hall’s inaction”.
Ana added she cannot leave her house for fear property prices have plummeted, adding: “Where would we go? We are humble workers.”
Politicians have decried authorities’ failure to get rid of the insects even though alarm bells were first sounded in 2017 and have demanded Spain’s central government declare a state of emergency on Tenerife before World Heritage Site San Cristóbal de La Laguna is consumed.
David Hernández, a biologist and researcher at the island’s La Laguna University, explained how the termites, which originate from the United States and have cost more than £200 billion in damage worldwide, love the Canary Islands’ climate.
Mr Hernández said: “They can live in temperatures ranging from 4 to 35 degrees Celsius, which covers almost all the island.”
He added the termites have already spread over a 40 mile area and “if they have been able to reach such distances, they could be anywhere”.
Esteban Lorenzo, spokesman for political party ‘Sí se puede’ (Yes, we can) has asked the island’s government to declare a state of emergency.
He said: “The administrations are blaming one another. What we ask of them is institutional coordination, protocols, and action plans to stop this problem from spreading.
Mr Lorenzo added: “This is happening because there isn’t enough control at ports and airports of the goods, seeds and animals that enter the island.
“It’s a very dangerous species that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, wherever there are outbreaks on the island, both in private and public areas.
“We believe that it can be eradicated but, if we don’t succeed, we will have to constantly invest in controlling it and avoiding further economic damage.”
José Antonio Balbuena, Tenerife’s environment minister said: “It was concentrated in one residential development and was the responsibility of the municipal authorities.”
The Socialist Party (PSOE) politician added: “The City Hall should have acted more strongly.”
Meanwhile, Tacoronte mayor Álvaro Dávila, who is part of the Canarian Coalition, added: “We summoned the council and the regional government and it was agreed that they would form a commission to study and present a solution to the issue.”
While an official report on the plague and the damage caused so far has yet to be compiled, the Canary Island government has come up with a plan which they hope will rid them of the pests within a decade.
The scheme, which is expected to be put into action after the island’s summer frenzy, has a proposed budget of €5 million, but the regional government believes it could rocket to €10 million in just four years.
In the meantime, Tacoronte City Hall will approve a €200,000 subsidy package next month which will allow individuals to receive extermination treatments for around €3,000.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)