Living in Marbella means enjoying an enviable natural setting. Many of our homes and villas are surrounded by beautiful green areas, golf courses and the unbeatable closeness of the hills and the Sierra Blanca.
However, being so close to nature comes at a price that many residents discover the hard way: constant visits from rats and mice looking for food, water and a warm place to nest.
If you have heard noises in the false ceiling at night, found gnawed cables in the garage or dark droppings near the bins, you are not the only one. Rodent problems in Marbella are very common, but there is one key factor that determines why your home is more vulnerable than others.
The problem with developments not adopted by the council
As well as being close to the hills, which act as a natural habitat for these rodents, in Marbella we find a very particular planning situation: private residential developments that have not been adopted (taken over) by the council.
What does this mean for you? Because they have not been adopted, the maintenance of the internal streets, the sewers and, most importantly, the council’s rodent control programmes do not cover your area. Drains, communal gardens and meter rooms become “safe zones” where rats can breed without any public service controlling them.
If your residents’ association does not deal with this problem privately and continuously, the rodent population soars quickly, and it is only a matter of time before they get into the villas or apartments through pipes, by climbing creepers or through small gaps in the façades.
Why supermarket poison makes things worse
When you panic at the sight of a rat, the first impulse is to buy traps or granulated poison. As professionals, we urge caution.
First, because rodents (especially the black rat and the brown rat) are extremely intelligent animals; if they see that a bait is dangerous, the rest of the colony will stop eating it. Second, if a rat eats non-professional poison and dies inside the false ceiling or a cavity wall in your home, the smell and the secondary insects will be unbearable.
The right way to protect your home
When faced with a rodent problem, especially in areas so close to the hills or in developments without council control, the only effective solution is structural prevention and professional perimeter control.
At RapiPlaga we know how rodents behave on the Costa del Sol. We use professionally anchored tamper-proof bait stations (completely safe for your dogs, cats and children) and seal entry points to make sure that, even though you live surrounded by nature, your home is an impenetrable fortress.
If you need help keeping rodents at bay and getting your peace of mind back, visit our rat and mouse control service in Marbella and Málaga.
