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ARCHIVED - Cartagena neighbourhood plagued by rat and snake infestation blame filthy conditions
Residents living in the Regon of Murcia city's La Vaguada area claim rats have literally taken over the streets and their homes
A Cartagena neighbourhood is battling a rat infestation that is reportedly so bad, rodents are invading homes. Residents living in the La Vaguada area of Cartagena have blasted the "poor" and "unhygienic" state of the Plaza Iberoamérica for a proliferation of rats and snakes in the area.
They blame a lack of maintenance and cleanliness which has left parts of the neighbourhood "in a poor state with large amounts of dirt", and "very neglected" green areas".
"The Plaza looks like something out of a third-world town. Palm trees and hedges without pruning and dirt everywhere", said one local.
Marga, a resident who lives next to Plaza Iberoamérica, claims rats have invaded the ground floor of her home, as well as other houses on Calle Potosí.
"There are some wild fig trees that have grown to such an extent that the branches and leaves reach the ground, which the rats have taken advantage of to make their burrows there, and it seems that many of them have migrated to the residential area", said Marga, who fears the floorboards of her entire property will be ruined by the unwelcome tenants.
"I find excrement all over the house and areas that have been nibbled. They have already chewed through wires," added the homeowner who is at a loss as to how to deal with the infestation.
As a dog owner, she's afraid to put down poison. "The other day I found one of the rats in my kitchen and was so scared that I ran out of the house and spent the night at my mother's house," she said.
As a collective, residents believe the solution is to "clean the park thoroughly, prune the vegetation and uproot the fig trees", which they consider to be the "main source of the problem".
However, they feel "abandoned" by the authorities, and argue they have contacted the Town Hall, but have not yet received "any response".
"We have been complaining for a year and they do nothing. Every day that passes the nests multiply in the area," warned the residents.
In response, the council's Department of Parks and Gardens, said the Plaza de Iberoamérica "has been subjected this summer to frequent botellones (street drinking) and vandalism, which have caused the park to be filled with rubbish almost daily".
"The square is cleaned twice a week", assured the department, adding that "special attention will be paid to improving the condition of overgrown vegetation".
Criticism has also been directed at the La Vaguada Neighbourhood Association, which was dissolved in July, for not taking action and "passing on residents' demands to the local authorities" in the past.
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