Croatian city uses brutal means against mosquito plague that plagues residents | Abroad

It is a real plague, say residents of Osijek, a Croatian city along a side arm of the Danube. “When I come home from work in the afternoon, I don’t know who wants to go through the front door first: me or those bloodsuckers,” says a resident of the city. “The doors and windows are full of mosquitoes. We spend the whole summer barricaded in the house,” she tells ’24 Sata’.

In recent weeks, the city, like many other places in southeastern Croatia, has been overrun by mosquitoes. The rainfall in recent weeks has raised the water level of the Danube and other rivers, allowing mosquitoes to multiply en masse. Those who live along the water cannot go outside without being bitten, it is said in the local press. “Life is almost impossible. It looks awful. If you do go outside, you will be bitten and you will be scratching nonstop for the next two to three hours,” it sounds.

Various cities are therefore using harsh means against the mosquito plague. The control plan of the city of Osijek, which works with airplanes that spray insecticide over the city, costs about 1.1 million euros. The intention is to combat the mosquito larvae in particular with insecticides that are not harmful to humans, in order to prevent the further spread of the mosquitoes.

The town of Vukovar, along the banks of the Danube, has classified the mosquito infestation as a natural disaster. The city council has allocated 1.5 million euros to combat the stinging insects. “If you walk through Vukovar for fifteen minutes, you will be bitten by more than a hundred mosquitoes that attack you in swarms,” says Mayor Ivan Penava. The board has developed an action plan with fifteen “battle points”. Nine of these have already been implemented, but the mosquito plague has still not been overcome.

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