Filenews 17 July 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The nightmare of the shopkeepers of the port of Kato Paphos, but also of the thousands of visitors to the area, unfortunately returned four years later.
Insects attracted by light invaded the land area of the port in the summer of 2019, creating images of chaos, reappeared in the last four nights again in swarms, creating very uncomfortable situations for leisure centres, their customers and commuters in the area.
Uninvited guests caused serious problems in the operation of the area's leisure centres, as they were attracted by the lights of businesses and ended up at restaurant tables, on patrons, and even inside customers' dishes. Business owners told "F" that the situation in recent nights, due to the heat, was very difficult for professionals and customers, who in some cases were forced to abandon their dinner or coffee to escape this different attack. Hundreds of insects remained on tables, chairs or public places, with local business employees finding that their touch also gave off a very unpleasant odour.
The phenomenon, according to businessmen who have been active in the area for a long time, is not unprecedented, since as they pointed out, the "invasion" of these insects was observed in the past during periods of high temperatures. They even mentioned that the officials of the Municipality of Pafos had installed special traps years ago in the public lighting of the land area, which trapped these insects and threw them into buckets with water placed with the traps.
Unfortunately, this time, said a leisure centre owner, their mass arrival caused a lot of problems. Suffice it to say that dozens of customers in the last two nights left to escape the annoyance, without being asked to pay their bills, since the insects fell into food, drinks or even their clothes.
Yesterday, businessmen in the area made hasty changes to the lighting of their businesses in order to be less intense, expecting that the insects will return. This particular insect, as had been established by the actions and contacts of the involved services, such as the Department of Environment, the Department of Agriculture, the Port Authority, the Department of Antiquities, the Game Service and the Municipality of Pafos, in 2019, it is Pangaeus bilineatus.
Then it was decided to expand light traps which work in such a way that contributes to the disorientation of insects from food premises, restaurants and other places. At that time, in the course of the research carried out, it was established that a special category of lighting attracts them better, and to this end new lamps were installed in various places which do not pose a problem for businesses.
Professionals in the region are calling for the immediate reinstatement of the measures this time, in order to eliminate the problem immediately.
