Spain holiday islands alert as threat of plague grows worse | Travel News | Travel

The risk of a locust plague is mounting across four popular Spanish holiday destinations.

Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura have witnessed swarms of locusts arriving in recent days. Whilst the short-horned grasshopper species poses no direct danger to humans, it could threaten agricultural production, including vineyards, should the situation develop into a full-blown plague, as occurred two decades ago.

Footage has emerged on social media platforms showing hundreds of locusts swarming across the countryside. The insects have travelled from the western Sahara, driven by recent humid yet mild conditions. The locusts have affected multiple areas of Lanzarote, including the well-frequented tourist destinations of Arrecife, Costa Teguise, Famara, Uga and Tahíche.

Swarms have also been reported on the remaining Canary Islands, including northern Tenerife. Two decades ago, an infestation of this insect struck Lanzarote, causing widespread damage to agricultural land and disrupting residents’ everyday lives.

During that period, the locust numbers reached such levels that fire brigade teams were deployed to eradicate them.

The locust is an insect which, throughout history, has travelled from the African continent on easterly winds, accompanied by airborne Sahara Desert dust.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), it ranks as the most devastating migratory pest globally and, when triggered by environmental conditions, can form concentrated and extremely mobile swarms. These insects have the potential to devastate crops by consuming their own weight in food daily.

A swarm spanning one square kilometre can house up to 80 million adult locusts, capable of eating the same quantity of food in a day as 35,000 people.

The government of Lanzarote has already activated its environmental services, which will remain on high alert for the next 48 hours. Officials are optimistic that the swarms will not develop into a full-blown infestation.

“The next two days are going to be key. If they are adult specimens that have arrived exhausted, they will die and nothing will happen. If we see copulations, that would mean that they are reproducing. We would have to see it between this afternoon and tomorrow,” stated Francisco Fabelo, the head of the Environment of the Cabildo.

“We already experienced this in 2004, and at the end of the eighties, there was another similar episode. On both occasions, it was very striking, with specimens all over the roads, but they did not cause damage inside.”

The Canary Islands suffered one of the most severe desert locust incidents in October 1958, when massive swarms from Africa ravaged crops on the islands, particularly in the south of Tenerife, in municipalities such as Arico, Fasnia, Granadilla de Abona and the Güímar Valley.

Tomato and potato crops sustained substantial damage, and the infestation necessitated the deployment of aircraft from the Ministry of Agriculture for aerial fumigation. Meanwhile, locals and farmers attempted to tackle the insects on the ground using basic methods such as bonfires, noise or poisoned baits.

A comparable incident took place in 1954, when another swarm ravaged over 10,000 hectares of island crops. Agricultural chiefs on the islands have expressed confidence that a recurrence is unlikely, emphasising that the islands are well-equipped to handle the issue.