An effort to conserve biodiversity in the Pitiusas Islands

The Snake Control campaign in Ibiza and Formentera began in April 2025, as part of the ITS 2023Ext – 114 project for the Control of Invasive Species in the Pitiusas Islands. The main objective of this initiative is to control two invasive snake species in the region: the horseshoe snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis) and the ladder snake (Zamenis scalaris).
This year, the plan calls for the installation of 1,700 traps in Ibiza and 450 in Formentera, with the support of a team of eight full-time field technicians. The traps began being installed in April and will remain active until the end of October. The goal is to surpass last year’s capture records, which reached 3,072 in Ibiza and 806 in Formentera.
In addition, this campaign includes the survey of 34 islets surrounding the coasts of Ibiza and Formentera. This activity seeks, on the one hand, to monitor endemic lizard populations and, on the other, to carry out snake eradication tasks on those islets where their presence is detected, as is already the case on Santa Eulalia Island and Murada Island.
To facilitate these efforts, the team has an inflatable boat acquired through the EU-PRTR project “Fighting Invasive Species in the Balearic Islands 2022-2026,” which will allow for more effective work on the islets.