Gecko control in Al Rusayfah, Makkah

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 Rusayfah

New shops with strong night lighting attract geckos rapidly because insects cluster beneath these lights, and residents upstairs discover the problem without realising the shops below are the source. The method is set out in full on Gecko control in detail.

The first reason

Street level shops and their insect attracting night lights

Powerful night lighting in ground floor shops gathers thousands of night insects, and geckos spread around these lights hunting the concentrated food supply. Treating shops alone will not stop upper flat residents being affected unless the connection routes between commercial and residential zones are sealed completely.

The second reason

Boundaries between buildings and surrounding empty gaps

The new scheme still contains vacant plots and incomplete borders between buildings where geckos use open ground as safe corridors. Exposed soil, open foundation works and the unfinished landscape give geckos shelter zones from which to approach the buildings directly.

The third reason

Roofs and voids between ground and upper floors

The gaps between shop and apartment levels, rooftops of ground floors and incomplete foundation spaces are ideal gecko shelters. The gecko hides in these voids by day and descends at night to hunt under the ground floor lights, then climbs back up into the upper apartments as dawn approaches.

Al Rusayfah on the map

Al Rusayfah sits about 1.5 km from Al Hindawiyah and about 2 km from Al Khalidiyah.

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Before treatment

The food, the opening and the crevice decide the method

The gaps between shops and apartment blocks, unfinished plot boundaries and open ground in the new scheme provide multiple gecko shelters and insect gathering zones before they enter occupied buildings.

A small house gecko resting on a pale wall

The house gecko

House geckos in mixed buildings concentrate around commercial night lights on the ground floor and climb to residential zones above when hungry or exploring for new refuges.

Outdoor lighting

Exterior lighting for shops attracts night insects strongly, drawing geckos to feed in concentrated populations, so treatment focuses on reducing light attraction or redirecting it away from building entry points.

An insect screen on a window, seen close up

Window mesh

Window mesh on upper flat windows offers protection from direct entry but the air conditioning sleeves shared between shop and flat need specialised sealing work.

Air-conditioner pipes passing through an outside wall

The air-conditioner sleeve

Air conditioning runs serving both shop and flat need unified treatment, and may need redesign if they form an obvious weak point in the barrier between levels.

An electrical distribution board mounted on a wall

Meter boxes and electrical panels

Electrical panels and meter boxes occur in both shops and flats and sometimes in the voids between floors, needing very careful treatment due to active electrical hazards.

A garden wall with watered planting beside it

The garden and the irrigation

Gardens or external spaces in the new scheme are limited, but irrigation and lighting should be managed so night insects do not cluster near the main building entry points.

How we work

1
Inspect at night and find the source

We come at the hour it is actually moving, and establish which wall face it is living on, which lights are gathering its food, the entry points and the crevices it wedges into by day.
2
Treat the food source

We treat the flying and crawling insects on the wall faces, around the perimeter and around the lighting. Once the food goes, the wall stops being worth staying on.
3
Close the openings and clear the crevices

We seal the air-conditioner sleeve, screen the vents and drain outlets, deal with the underside of doors, and place a repellent in the crevices and behind panels so they move out before anything is closed.
4
The follow-up visit

We come back once the glued eggs have hatched, check the seals held, and re-treat any wall face where activity has returned.

What gecko control includes

A recorded night inspection

Wall faces, lighting, entry points and egg sites, all established before anything is applied.
Treating the insects on the walls

Targeted treatment around lighting, windows and the building perimeter, because the food is what keeps it there.
Placed repellent in the crevices

Behind panels, in wall joints and at the ceiling-void entries, where it sits out the day.
Screening vents and drain openings

Shafts, vents and the condensate outlet, which are entry points nobody looks at.
Aftercare instructions

Ventilation, what to cover, and the change to the outside lighting that stops the insects gathering again.
A scheduled follow-up

A set date after the first treatment, a check on the seals and re-treatment of anything still active.

What is different about Al Misfalah Sub-Municipality

Al Misfalah sub municipality runs downhill from the south of the Grand Mosque through Al Misfalah, Kudai and Al Rawabi to Al Taqwa, Al Hindawiyah, Al Khalidiyah and Al Rusayfah at the third ring road. The northern end is old apartment blocks and pilgrim hotels with restaurants along Ibrahim Al Khalil Street and the huge coach parks at Kudai. The south and west are dense popular districts with countless small shops and unplanned hillside housing, some of it already cleared for redevelopment, giving way to orderly land grant schemes in Al Rusayfah beside the railway station.

Questions about this district

Is treating shops alone enough to protect the apartments above?

Ground floor shops attract the geckos, but the upper flats are accessed through service runs and cracks between floors. Treating shops may reduce pressure but does not solve the problem, and the upper apartments need separate treatment focusing precisely on the junction points between levels.

How do geckos move from the ground shop directly into the flat above?

Air conditioning sleeves, pipes and cracks around ceilings and shared walls provide direct routes, and geckos climb interior and exterior walls easily to move from shop to flat. Sealing the boundary between the floors with precision work is essential.

Do vacant plots and gaps in this new scheme shelter geckos well?

Yes, open ground, incomplete construction and exposed foundation works provide excellent gecko and insect shelter, and geckos use them as staging posts before entering the occupied shops and flats. Progressive development works should include efforts to seal vulnerable gaps as the scheme matures.

Is it better to treat a single shop alone or treat it with the flat above it?

Treating shop and flats together gives better results because it cuts the gecko's access route before it climbs from commercial to residential. Treating the shop alone may simply push the gecko upward into upper flats where neighbours may not have treated their units yet.

What is different between treating a shop and the flat in the same building?

The shop needs precise work around night lights, corners and stored goods, while flats need different treatment around furniture and living spaces. The key difference is that the commercial unit is the gecko's initial attractant.

How many visits does a mixed building like this usually need?

Usually at least three visits: the first to treat adults and congregating insects together, the second after two weeks for small larvae, and a third after several weeks for eggs hatching under walls and ceilings.

How much does gecko control in Al Rusayfah 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 Rusayfah.