Termite control in Al Haram, 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 Haram

The Haram itself never sleeps, and the continuous crowds, movement and water from ablution and cleaning provide a never-ending moisture supply. Beneath the courtyards and stone passages the water table sits far higher than anywhere else in Makkah. The method is set out in full on Termite control in detail.

The first reason

Massive hotel towers on an exceptionally high water table

Abraj Al Bait and other hotel towers have deep footings, but the water table here is higher than anywhere else in Makkah. Coastal termite species can settle in water-saturated soil and climb toward footings from every direction. The water itself does not kill them; it is their highway.

The second reason

Open construction sites and massive excavations offer sanctuary

The Rua Al Haram scheme and the northern expansion created huge open dig sites. These sites maintain high moisture and exposed soil is ideal colony habitat. Building around the colonies may displace them, not eliminate them, moving them to neighbouring structures.

The third reason

Markets, warehouses and restaurants provide food and shelter year round

Al Masjid Al Haram Road and Umm Al Qura Road are crowded with shops, stores and warehouses. Food, goods and stored timber attract termites upward from the soil. Tunnels may reach from warehouses into neighbouring hotels.

The character of Al Haram

Commercial area: offices, showrooms and small stores

Al Haram is a commercial zone: hotels, shops and warehouses clustered around the Grand Mosque, where continuous crowds, continuous water use and the high water table make this zone unique in treatment complexity and frequency of re-treatment.

Before treatment

The evidence that decides the treatment

Al Haram is framed by Jabal Abu Qubais and Jabal Qaiqaan, with Abraj Al Bait rising to the south and Jabal Omar to the west. The ground is low and close to the sea and port. The water table beneath the Haram and its courtyards is exceptionally high.

Mud tubes

Mud tubes in the Haram begin in the exceptionally high water table and climb into hotel footings from every direction. Close inspection requires understanding of the local hydrology.

Discarded transparent wings on a window ledge

Shed wings

Shed wings appear frequently in hotels because the colonies here are massive. Wings may be found in guest rooms and cause alarm.

A damaged timber frame showing internal galleries

Hollow timber

Hollow timber in columns, floors and fittings may become a structural hazard quickly. Large hotels may need to close wings because of damage.

A dark damp patch below a pipe at a wall base

The water source

The water source is the water table, the crowds and water from ablution and cleaning. There is no time without moisture in the Haram.

Cardboard boxes and timber stacked on a store floor

Cellulose on the floor

Cellulose on the floor includes footings, columns, floors and hotel fittings. Massive hotels contain abundant timber.

A concrete joint and a pipe passing through a floor slab

Joints and pipe entries

Joints and pipe entries beneath courtyards and hotels need robust sealing and continuous inspection because the water table pressure is extreme.

How we work

1
Inspect and trace

We sound the timber and the skirting, take moisture readings, and follow the tubes to the point where they leave the soil. We also settle the species, because one that lives inside dry wood is not treated like one that lives in the ground.
2
Treat the soil around the building

A narrow trench at the footing and injection at regular spacing, so the treated band runs continuous with no gap to walk around.
3
Drill the joints, inject the timber

Small holes at spacing along the slab joints, the wall bases and the pipe entries, direct injection into the galleries inside the affected timber, then the holes are closed and made good.
4
Bait stations and monitoring

Stations in the soil carrying a slow-acting material the workers pass through the colony by mouth-to-mouth feeding, and we come back to read them, because an empty tube on a wall proves nothing on its own.

What termite control includes

A traced, recorded inspection

Sounding, moisture readings, tubes traced back to the soil, and the species settled before anything is applied.
A treated band at the perimeter

Trenching and injection at the footing, spaced so the band is continuous rather than a set of patches.
Joints and service penetrations

Slab joints, pipe entries and floor drains, which are the ways up through the concrete.
Bait stations in the soil

A slow material carried back through the colony by feeding exchange, rather than stopping the workers at the wall.
Aftercare instructions

What not to dig or water near the treated band, what to keep off the walls, and the ventilation time we set for your case.
Scheduled monitoring visits

Reading the stations, sounding the same timber again, and treating any new activity.

What is different about Al Ghazza Sub-Municipality

Al Ghazza sub municipality wraps around the north and west of the Grand Mosque, from Al Shamiyah, Al Qararah and Shaib Amir round to Jarwal and Al Taysir. Large tracts were cleared for the northern expansion and the Rua Al Haram scheme, leaving excavated ground and open construction sites beside ageing blocks that now serve as dense seasonal lodgings in Jarwal and Al Taysir. Old flood paths still fall from Jabal Qaiqaan and Jabal Khandamah towards the mosque, and markets and eateries crowd Al Masjid Al Haram Road and Umm Al Qura Road.

Questions about this district

Does the continuous flow of pilgrims and Umrah visitors add moisture?

Hugely. Crowds and water from ablution and constant cleaning provide a moisture supply that never stops. Hotels and courtyards stay wet year round.

Do open construction sites cause termites to migrate to nearby buildings?

Yes. Massive open excavations provide sanctuary and rich soil. Building around the colonies may push termites toward adjoining structures instead of removing the colony.

Can hotels around the Haram be treated without affecting the sanctity of the mosque?

Yes. Treatment is applied to footings and soil outside the mosque. Hotels are treated from their exteriors and beneath their floors, untouching the mosque itself.

Are the markets on Al Masjid Al Haram Road a source of hotel infestations?

Possibly. The soil beneath markets and hotels is connected and termites migrate between them. Treating one hotel does nothing if the infestation source is the neighbouring market.

Does an exceptionally high water table make treatment impossible?

No, but it requires specialised technique. High water means termites may originate from greater depth, so treatment must reach into saturated soil.

How often must hotels around the Haram be treated?

At least every two months, because moisture is never absent and colonies can re-establish quickly. The Haram is an exceptional zone.

How much does termite control in Al Haram 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 Haram.