A technician checking a boundary wall line and pipe entries at ground level

Snake control in Al Misfalah Makkah

Al Misfalah is the low ground that falls away south of the Grand Mosque along Ibrahim Al Khalil Street, named for its descent from the sacred precinct. Old apartment blocks stand shoulder to shoulder as lodgings for Hajj and Umrah visitors, with restaurants and shops beneath them, and older quarters such as Al Kakiyah and Qawz Al Nakasah reach out towards Jabal Sharaf. Snakes slip through gaps between very tight, old walls, following rats and cockroaches in shops and eateries working year round.

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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 Misfalah

Narrow ancient lanes, crowded buildings and many small shops create extremely complex networks and passages for snakes and rodents moving between floors and streets. The method is set out in full on the full Snake control page.

The first reason

Very old, closely packed buildings with extremely tight walls

Very tightly spaced old walls create narrow gaps allowing small, slender snakes to pass through easily, and deteriorating construction makes entry simple.

The second reason

Old quarters perched on the rising hillsides

Old quarters such as Al Kakiyah and Qawz Al Nakasah on the rising slopes offer multiple entry points directly from Jabal Sharaf, and aged construction cannot keep snakes out.

The third reason

Restaurants and shops densely scattered on Ibrahim Al Khalil Street

Restaurants and shops spread along Ibrahim Al Khalil Street provide continuous food scraps and doors left open at night, drawing rats and the snakes that hunt them.

The character of Al Misfalah

Apartment district: residential blocks, repeated floors and shared entrances

Pilgrim apartment buildings in Al Misfalah mean that multiple floors and shared passages create complex networks for snakes to move through without meeting closed doors. Snakes can travel between flats through gaps between walls without residents on other floors ever noticing.

Before treatment

What the site tells us before we start

A low area directly south of the Haram, closely packed old apartment blocks, old quarters on the slopes of Jabal Sharaf, many shops and commercial areas, dense seasonal lodging for pilgrims and Umrah visitors.

A shed skin

A shed skin: Gaps between tightly packed old walls and narrow foundations make ideal places where shed skins are easily spotted and collected.

A winding trail across fine sand beside a wall

The track in the sand

The track in the sand: Hillsides and unmade areas around the quarters hold clear tracks of snakes descending from the slopes at night.

Concrete blocks stacked against an exterior wall

Block and rubble piles

Block and rubble piles: Ongoing repair and rebuilding in the quarters leaves material piles providing temporary shelter and cover.

A closed metal gate with a visible gap beneath it

The gap under the gate

The gap under the gate: Quarter gates and shop doors leave bottom gaps allowing snakes and rodents to pass freely in and out.

A burrow opening in dry soil beside a garden

Rodent burrows

Rodent burrows: Rats tunnel beneath old building foundations and quarter walls, creating networks that snakes follow into the structures.

A drip irrigation line leaking onto garden soil

A leaking irrigation line

A leaking irrigation line: Very old drainage systems leak continuously beneath the quarters, raising humidity and drawing rodent populations.

How we work

1
Inspect and locate

We work the perimeter, the garden and the service rooms with a torch and a mirror, reading the tracks, the skins and the burrows to establish whether it is still on site and where it came in.
2
Safe removal

It comes out on a hook and tongs into a closed container and is released away from buildings where that is possible, with no chasing it around a room.
3
Close the routes, take away the shelter

A strip under the gate, sleeves around pipe entries, tight covers on the floor drains, and the blocks and palm fronds moved off the wall line.
4
Cut the food, then come back

We treat the rodents and the geckos on the perimeter, then return once that activity has settled to check the sealed points and look for any fresh track.

What snake control includes

A recorded site inspection

Perimeter, garden, service rooms and pipe entries, with tracks and skins recorded before anything is applied.
Drains and entries closed

Tight covers on floor drains, sleeves around waste and air conditioning pipe runs, and the weep holes in the boundary wall closed.
Rodent work around the building

Closed bait stations on the rodent runs, because cutting the prey is what makes the site stop suiting them.
Perimeter treatment down the food chain

Insects on lit walls hold the geckos, and geckos feed some species, so we treat the chain from the bottom up.
A perimeter housekeeping list

What to move off the wall line, how low to cut the ground cover, where the lighting sits, and what to do if you see another one.
A scheduled follow-up

A set date to check the sealed points, the rodent stations and any new track in the sand.

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

Are snakes in old quarters different from those in modern hotel blocks?

Yes, very much. Old quarter snakes are smaller and adapted to tight spaces, whilst hotel snakes are larger and more adapted to modern environments.

Why do snakes come down from Jabal Sharaf into the Al Misfalah quarters?

The mountain offers natural habitat but scarce food, whilst the quarters provide rats, cockroaches and insects available year round from the restaurants.

Does deteriorating old building work make snake removal easier or harder?

Easier to enter because gaps are plentiful, but harder to remove because snakes may hide deep within ancient walls where they are hard to reach.

Does the constant stream of pilgrims make the snake problem worse?

Yes. Constant movement, open doors left unattended and spilled food give snakes and rats greater opportunity to enter and settle.

Does locking shops at night on Ibrahim Al Khalil Street stop snakes?

Locking shops reduces new entries, but snakes already sheltering in voids beneath the old foundations may remain hidden and emerge at night hunting.

Does removing one snake from an old quarter mean there are no others nearby?

No. Other snakes may already shelter in nearby voids or arrive from adjoining old quarters where conditions are equally attractive.

How much does snake control in Al Misfalah 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 Misfalah.