A pest control technician checking an air-conditioner pipe opening in an outside wall

Gecko control in Al Shuhada Makkah

Al Shuhada is an old unplanned district in the north of Makkah at Thaniyat Al Bayda, with informal housing spread over fissured rocky ground between Hajj Street and Al Shuhada Square. Buildings stand close together, lanes are narrow and the utility networks are decades old, with air-con and water pipes running through walls shared with neighbours, which means treatment needs coordination.

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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 Shuhada

Deep cracks in the walls of this old quarter shelter geckos where surface treatment alone cannot reach, so finding and treating them requires different methods. The method is set out in full on how we approach Gecko control.

The first reason

Close-packed housing and shared walls

Homes are built adjoining each other and walls are shared, which lets geckos move between houses through gaps and cracks. Treating one house does not stop entry from the neighbour, and real treatment needs coordination between households.

The second reason

Rocky ground and natural deep crevices

The fissured bedrock beneath the district offers deep natural shelter and crevices that run under the bases and walls. Geckos do not need street access at all; they may arrive from below the floor slab through gaps in the old foundations.

The third reason

Ageing networks and multiple openings

Water, sewage, power and other networks are old and pass through walls and floors, leaving gaps around each pipe. These gaps provide easy entry for geckos and rodents, and treatment must reach into these deep voids and wall cavities.

Landmarks of Al Shuhada

Treatment of Al Shuhada focuses on the deep cracks in walls and the narrow passages between houses, with work near Hajj Street and Asad ibn Zurarah Mosque where insects and natural fissures concentrate.

Hajj Street
Madinah Road
Al Shuhada Square
Thaniyat Al Bayda
Jabal Al Shahid
Asad ibn Zurarah Mosque

Before treatment

The food, the opening and the crevice decide the method

Fissured rocky terrain with deep natural cracks, and cracks in the aging buildings open and widen rapidly because of ground subsidence and vibration from heavy traffic.

A small house gecko resting on a pale wall

The house gecko

The house gecko in Al Shuhada originates in the fissured bedrock, the adjacent hills, and the closely packed houses, not in the house itself.

Outdoor lighting

Exterior lighting on narrow streets draws insects up from the rocky terrain and natural fissures, turning each lit street into a feeding ground.

An insect screen on a window, seen close up

Window mesh

Windows and mesh on old houses may be perforated or missing, and narrow streets bring insects and geckos close to the glass.

Air-conditioner pipes passing through an outside wall

The air-conditioner sleeve

Air-con and fan openings on walls above deep cracks offer geckos entry that resists permanent sealing, because ground movement keeps reopening the cracks beneath.

An electrical distribution board mounted on a wall

Meter boxes and electrical panels

Old meter boxes and electrical panels sit surrounded by voids and cracks that let geckos through from shared walls to your rooms.

A garden wall with watered planting beside it

The garden and the irrigation

Garden space and irrigation in old houses may be sparse, but dampness from poor drains and standing water in the ground supports insects that feed the geckos.

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 Utaybiyah Sub-Municipality

Al Utaybiyah sub municipality covers the old districts north of the Grand Mosque: the hillside quarters of Al Hajun, Al Utaybiyah and Al Bayban, Al Zahir and Al Shuhada at the northern entrance, and the newer Al Zahra, Al Diyafah and An Nuzhah westward. Its building stock is among the oldest in Makkah, stone houses on the hills, packed apartment blocks and sewers decades old, threaded with crowded markets like the Utaybiyah souq and furnished flats that fill in the pilgrim seasons. Wadi Al Zahir and Wadi Al Tanim carry storm water through it, and industrial workshops line Hajj Street.

Questions about this district

Do the deep cracks in old walls in Al Shuhada make treatment significantly harder?

Yes, deep cracks offer shelter that surface spray cannot reach. Treatment needs injection of fluid into the cracks or repeated visits at short intervals to drive the gecko out of hiding.

Do closely adjoined buildings provide geckos with routes between neighbouring homes?

Yes, shared walls and the gaps between them supply safe passages for geckos. Treating your house alone will not stop them if your neighbour refuses, so persuading neighbours to treat together is essential.

Are old foundations and gradual ground subsidence to blame for the gecko problem?

Subsidence and the cracks it opens supply new entry points, but the real source is insects and moisture. Treatment must inject deep into cracks, not just coat their surface.

How many visits does an old house in Al Shuhada need initially?

At least monthly at first, because an old house holds multiple voids and deep cracks. If cracks stabilise after early treatments, visits may drop to every two months.

Does moisture and seepage from old drains worsen the gecko problem?

Yes, dampness supports small insects, mould and ants, which draw geckos. Houses with damaged drains need frequent treatment especially after rain when water sits and breeds insects.

Does treating my house reduce the chance that geckos will enter from the adjoining rocky slope?

The rocky slopes supply a constant source of insects and geckos, but sealing entrances and external gaps stops most entry. Routine treatment is the only solution in an old district beside rocky ground.

How much does gecko control in Al Shuhada 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 Shuhada.