Bed bug control in Al Balad, Jeddah

Targeted, not broadcast

Product goes into cracks and runways, never sprayed across open surfaces.
Told before we start

What we will use, where it goes, and what to cover or move before we arrive.
A follow-up visit

We return after the first treatment, because what survives it does not show on the day.
Homes and businesses

Apartments and villas, and kitchens and stores that need a record of each visit.

Why they keep coming back in Al Balad

Across jobs in Al Balad, an infestation more often starts in the carved rawashin woodwork or along the edge of an internal staircase than in the mattress itself. The method is set out in full on the full Bed bug control page.

The first reason

Multi-storey coral stone houses stacked close together

Al Balad's old houses rise several floors on thick coral stone walls with a narrow internal timber stair connecting them, so the seam check has to move from one floor to the next rather than staying inside a single bedroom.

The second reason

UNESCO listing limits what the walls can take

Because the quarter is protected heritage, the original stonework and rawashin cannot be drilled or altered, so treatment relies on steam and a targeted product worked into the seams and joints rather than any change to the building's fabric.

The third reason

A shop on the ground floor, a home above it

Many Al Balad houses have a family shop on the ground floor with living quarters stacked above, so goods and textiles from Souq Al Alawi or Souq Al Badu move straight up into the bedrooms without passing through a separate entrance.

Al Balad on the map

Al Balad sits about 1 km from Al Sahifah and about 1 km from Al Ammariyah.

Open in Google Maps

Before treatment

The places that decide the treatment

The quarter is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, and its facades carry carved wooden rawashin screens whose latticework and layered panels create fine gaps that need close inspection.

The stitched piping along the edge of a mattress

The mattress seam

In Al Balad's old houses the wooden bed frames are often aged and cracked, so the seam gets a closer look than a modern moisture resistant frame would need.

A wooden bed frame and its slats seen from below

Frame joints and screw holes

The old iron frames common in Al Balad's flats rust around the screw holes, widening the gaps, so we work through each joint in turn.

An upholstered headboard fixed to a bedroom wall

The headboard and the wall behind it

Many walls here are thick old stone behind the headboard, so we check the narrow gap between them without drilling into or touching the original stone.

What the bedding shows

In the tight rooms close to Al Balad's lanes, the marks usually show along the edge of the sheet nearest the cold stone wall.

A fabric sofa and the seam of its cushion

Sofas and armchairs

Upholstered seating in Al Balad's souq facing majlis rooms gets close attention, since it takes long sitting from visitors and traders through the day.

An open suitcase on a luggage rack in a room

Luggage and second hand furniture

Luggage from the old souq shops and second hand furniture passed between Al Balad houses both get checked before either one enters a room.

How we work

1
Inspect and map the spread

We strip the bed and work through the mattress and base seams, the frame joints, the headboard and the skirting, then check the upholstered furniture and the neighbouring rooms to see how far it has gone.
2
Laundry, heat and steam

Bedding is bagged and sealed inside the room, then washed and dried hot. Steam runs along the seams and edges, because heat reaches the cemented eggs that a liquid never will.
3
Targeted, non-repellent application

A non-repellent product goes onto the harbourage itself, with a dust into voids and screw holes. We do not use a repellent aerosol, because it drives the insect deeper into the wall and into the next room.
4
Monitoring and the follow-up visit

A sealed encasement goes onto the mattress and the base, with monitors under the bed legs, then we return once the remaining eggs have hatched and re-treat anything still active.

What bed bug control includes

A recorded inspection

Mattress and base seams, frame joints, the headboard, the skirting and every upholstered piece in the room.
Steam and targeted application

Steam along the seams and edges, and a non-repellent product on the harbourage itself, not on the surfaces you sleep on.
Voids and pipe entries

Behind the skirting, around pipe entries and under socket plates, which is the route from one unit to the next.
Monitors under the bed legs

Checked at every visit, they show remaining activity before the bites do.
Laundry, encasement and aftercare

The hot wash and dryer routine, a sealed encasement on the mattress and base, and what must not be carried out of the room.
A follow-up timed to the hatch

A date set on the hatch, and re-treatment of anything still active.

Landmarks of Al Balad

Reaching a home in Al Balad means threading the lanes near Bab Makkah, where addresses are still given by nearby landmarks such as Nassif House rather than street names, so the team locates each house by these old markers.

Nassif House
Al Shafi'i Mosque
Souq Al Alawi
Souq Al Badu
Bab Makkah
Bab Sharif

Questions about this district

Can bed bugs hide inside the pores of our old coral stone wall?

The small pores in coral stone rarely shelter bed bugs, since they prefer tight seams and cracks close to a heat source such as a bed. We still check the wall edge against the mattress and frame as a precaution.

Part of our heritage building is under restoration with workers in daily, is that a risk?

The restoration work itself does not bring bed bugs, but workers, tools and materials moving between sites can, so we check the rooms nearest the work area and make sure no bedding or fabric is being stored beside it.

We bought an old rug from Souq Al Alawi for the bedroom, does it need checking first?

Old rugs and soft furnishings from the traditional souqs can carry eggs just as furniture does, so it is worth shaking the rug out, checking it closely and steaming it before it goes into the bedroom.

Our family lives across three floors joined by a narrow wooden stair, can bed bugs travel between floors?

The narrow internal stair in Al Balad's old houses can carry an infestation upward if it touches an infested bed frame, so we check its treads and wooden edges on every floor the family uses.

The lanes here are too narrow for cars, how does your equipment reach our house?

We carry the kit by hand in cases suited to walking through the narrow lanes, so the inspection and treatment stay the same, only how the tools reach the door changes.

Our majlis next to the souq gets a lot of daytime visitors, does it need its own check?

A busy majlis is not a problem by itself, but if someone sits for long periods or leaves a bag on the seating, we check its cushions and upholstery just as closely as any bedroom.

How much does bed bug control in Al Balad cost?

It is set after the inspection, because the price follows the type of infestation, the size of the space, how far it has spread and the number of visits it needs. Send a photo and a description on WhatsApp and we will give you an estimate before we reach Al Balad.