‘Mutant’ cockroach warning in Spain: Experts say numbers of the bugs have soared by a third while their genetics are rapidly changing - this is why

EXPERTS are warning against ‘mutant’ cockroaches as numbers of the bugs soar due to genetic mutation.

Climate change has accelerated the metabolic cycles of certain species, leading to a huge expansion of the bugs across the globe.

They have also become ‘resistant’ to insecticides, making it ever more difficult to combat their rising numbers.

According to Carlos Pradera, technical manager of pest control company Anticimex: “It’s very complex.

“The more pressure we put on, the more they can withstand.”

As a result, Anticimex says the number of the critters has risen by 65% between 2022-2024.

The culprit, says Jorge Galvan, director of the Spanish Association of Environmental Health Businesses, is climate change.

Spain has developed from a ‘subtropical climate to a tropical one’, he told 20 minutos.

“Warm seasons are longer and the cold ones are getting warmer and warmer.”

This means plagues of cockroaches are seen a couple of months earlier and last one and a half months longer after.

Now, cockroaches have longer reproductive cycles and reproduce more.

The issue, says Galvan, is now a ‘public health’ concern which requires ‘preventive measures’.

These include traps, fumigation and above all, making sure you maintain a clean home.

Although more ‘tedious’, require more visits and attention to the client, they are ‘much more effective’.

However, the critters are not the only bug on the rise.

Many insects are increasing in numbers, including the tiger mosquito.

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‘Mutant’ cockroach warning in Spain: Experts say numbers of the bugs have soared by a third while their genetics are rapidly changing – this is why