Bed bug control in Al Rawabi, 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 Rawabi

Flats in the older southern strip along Old Makkah Road tend to hold older upholstered furniture handed down within the family, while flats nearer Bin Laden Road in the north usually have pieces bought more recently. The method is set out in full on how we approach Bed bug control.

The first reason

A newer north, an older south

Bin Laden Road divides a newer northern section from an older southern strip that runs along Old Makkah Road, and that gap in building age changes what kind of furniture sits in each home and where an infestation is likely to have started.

The second reason

Flats sitting directly above dense trade

Al Rawabi's residential blocks stand right above shops and the Al Rawabi Shopping Centre itself, so new and secondhand goods pass through the same entrances every day before anyone carries them upstairs into a flat.

The third reason

A dense population around a few shared points

Ibn Al Qayyim Mosque and Bin Laden Park serve a large number of residents packed into a small area, so families share the same stairwells and entrances, and furniture moves between neighbouring flats more often than it would in a more spread out district.

Landmarks of Al Rawabi

Visit times in Al Rawabi are set around the location of the flat, whether it sits near Al Rawabi Shopping Centre or further along Old Makkah Road, so the technician reaches the nearest entrance directly rather than crossing the district in traffic.

Old Makkah Road
Bin Laden Road
Bin Laden Park
Ibn Al Qayyim Mosque
Al Rawabi Shopping Centre

Before treatment

The places that decide the treatment

Multi storey apartment blocks cover most of Al Rawabi, with shopping centres fitted between them and only a small neighbourhood park serving a resident population this dense.

The stitched piping along the edge of a mattress

The mattress seam

In the older flats along Old Makkah Road the mattress itself has often been in the family for years, so its seam is the first place checked before anything else.

A wooden bed frame and its slats seen from below

Frame joints and screw holes

Furniture carried up the narrow stairwells common in the southern section often has its frame screws work loose in the process, and that opens fresh gaps for bed bugs to sit in.

An upholstered headboard fixed to a bedroom wall

The headboard and the wall behind it

Buildings in Al Rawabi often sit close together, so a headboard can rest against a wall shared with the next flat, and that wall gets checked along with the headboard itself.

What the bedding shows

With the high turnover of tenants in Al Rawabi's rented flats, marks on the bedding are sometimes noticed only once a new resident has already moved in.

A fabric sofa and the seam of its cushion

Sofas and armchairs

Upholstered seating bought from shops near Al Rawabi Shopping Centre needs its own check, since it is often the item that moves most directly from a shop into the flat sitting right above it.

An open suitcase on a luggage rack in a room

Luggage and second hand furniture

Second hand furniture carried between the older southern part of Al Rawabi and its newer northern part needs checking before it goes into any new flat, whichever direction it travels.

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.

What is different about Al Jamiah Sub-Municipality

Al Jamiah sub municipality spans the older south of Jeddah. Planned districts such as Al Fayha, Al Thaghr and Madain Al Fahd sit beside crowded popular quarters like the Nazlahs and Al Quraiyat, and beside cleared or clearing land in Ghulail, Petromin and Al Thaalibah awaiting redevelopment. Apartment buildings stand close together above dense runs of shops and restaurants along Old Makkah Road and Prince Majid Road. Drainage in the popular quarters is ageing, humid air drifts in from the port and refinery side to the west, and the flat low lying ground holds rainwater in narrow streets.

Questions about this district

Moving from a flat on Old Makkah Road to one near Bin Laden Road, does the furniture need checking?

Moving between the two flats does not clear an existing infestation, because bed bugs travel with the furniture itself rather than staying in a building. The bed frame and older soft furnishings should be checked before they go into the newer flat near Bin Laden Road.

We do itikaf at Ibn Al Qayyim Mosque and bring light bedding, does it need checking?

Bedding that stays several nights in a corner of the mosque should be treated like any bedding used outside the home, particularly if it came from an old store cupboard or spent time zipped inside a bag before it returns to the bedroom.

A fabric shop at Al Rawabi Shopping Centre stores stock in our basement, does it need checking?

Fabric stored for months in a shared basement can carry bed bugs without any visible sign on the cloth itself, so the folds should be checked before the rolls go back to the shop, especially if they sat near old furniture or bedding stored in the same basement.

We air bedding on a rooftop shared by the whole building, does that stop bed bugs spreading?

Sun on the rooftop kills some insects sitting on the surface, but it does not reach inside a mattress seam or the folded edge of a blanket, so an infestation can still move between flats even with shared airing.

We bought a new flat near Bin Laden Road with built in wardrobes, does it need checking?

Built in wardrobes from the developer are new, but that does not stop bed bugs arriving afterwards in moving boxes or older bedding carried into the flat, so a new building does not mean the room starts free of risk.

Our old building on Old Makkah Road has no lift, so neighbours help carry furniture, does that need checking?

Carrying furniture up a stairwell with help from someone outside the household raises the chance of bed bugs travelling on their clothes, so large pieces are better checked before they go up rather than once they reach the flat.

How much does bed bug control in Al Rawabi 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 Rawabi.