Termite control in District 4 — canal-side apartments, lane townhouses, old blocks

Since 1 July 2025 Ho Chi Minh City has had wards, the local administrative units, in place of districts, and Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 made the former District 4 into three of them. Before that, on 1 January 2025, ward 6 had been merged into ward 9, ward 10 into ward 8 and ward 14 into ward 15. One apartment's title deed and lease may therefore show up to three different addresses; the building name or the house number is all we need.

All three wards are served regularly, between 07:00 and 20:00 daily, and the survey time is agreed when you book.

Xom Chieu ward

Old wards 13, 16 and 18 and part of ward 15, towards the Te canal and the Saigon River. The Tresor, Saigon Royal and Icon 56 stand on Ben Van Don, among long-established townhouse neighbourhoods.

Khanh Hoi ward

Old wards 8 and 9, parts of wards 2 and 4 and the rest of ward 15: Masteri Millennium, with rows of townhouses and old apartment blocks in the lanes of the original Khanh Hoi.

Vinh Hoi ward

Old wards 1 and 3 and the rest of wards 2 and 4, facing the city centre across the Ben Nghe canal: mostly townhouses, medium-sized apartment blocks and apartments for rent.

The former District 4 is shaped like a small river island: the Ben Nghe canal to the north, the Saigon River to the east, the Te canal to the south. It covers only about 4.18 km² (Wikipedia) and is among the most densely populated parts of the city. Damp riverside air, on top of Ho Chi Minh City's average relative humidity of about 79.5% a year (the city's information portal), suits termites, which need moisture to maintain their nest and their mud tubes, the soil tunnels they travel in.

Many older neighbourhoods lie low. Thanh Nien (2020) recorded tidal water flowing over Vinh Khanh street and the Calmette wharf area on a day without rain. After repeated high water, wall bases, tiled floors and ground-floor door frames stay damp for a long time, which is where subterranean termites come up from the soil.

Tuoi Tre (March 2025) counted 32 apartment blocks here built before 1975, where old pipework, service shafts and common staircases carry termites from floor to floor. A new tower is not exempt: the University of Florida's guide (UF/IFAS) describes the Asian subterranean termite as able to nest high up, with no contact with the ground, where the structure holds steady moisture such as a leaking pipe or a seeping roof. What residents notice first:

• Ground-floor door frames and kitchen-cabinet feet in a townhouse: wood crumbling after the high-water season, streaked with soil.
• Engineered timber flooring and skirting in an apartment: swollen, giving slightly, hollow when tapped.
• A service shaft or built-in cupboard beside the bathroom: mud tubes following the water pipes.
• A river-facing balcony or loggia: winged termites flying towards the lights on evenings early in the rainy season.

More on the signs of termites

Our guide to termites in Saigon houses explains mud tubes and flying termites, and what to do and not do when you find them.

Spot treatment, bait, treating the ground slab or a combination: that is a professional decision our technicians take after the survey. Your Up specialist's part varies with the home:

High-rise apartments along Ben Van Don

The technicians work out the termites' path from the kitchen cabinets, a door frame, the service shaft or the floorboards. Your Up specialist covers furniture, sofas and electronics, keeps the shared corridor clean and observes the hours building management permits.

Townhouses in the lanes of Khanh Hoi and Xom Chieu

Inspection runs from the ground-floor slab and the wall shared with the next house up to the roof terrace. Belongings on the ground floor, the level most prone to damp, are raised and covered before treatment.

Apartments in old blocks

If the traces lead back to a shared wall or the common stairs, we recommend informing the neighbours and the block's management team, so the inspection does not end at one front door.

Rented apartments standing empty

An owner living elsewhere can send a relative or the apartment's manager to attend. The Up Report, with photos of every area, lets the owner follow from a distance.

Ground-floor shops and restaurants

Visits can be set outside trading hours, between 07:00 and 20:00. Food and kitchen utensils are sealed away or moved out, as our technicians direct.

The cost follows the condition of each home, so we quote no general figure. The survey is free. The all-inclusive quote comes in writing and names the method, the areas, the re-entry time (how long to stay out of a treated area), the return inspections and the warranty conditions; any later adjustment requires your written consent. It takes account of:

• The type of home: high-rise apartment, apartment in an old block, or multi-storey townhouse.
• The extent: one contained point, or several rooms and floors.
• Any source of damp that comes with it: a seeping wall base or a leaking pipe has to be put right alongside the treatment.
• The technique chosen and the return inspections that go with it.
• The area of timber flooring and the number of timber cabinets to treat, or to dismantle for access.
• The covering and cleaning done by your Up specialist. The warranty period is stated in the quote.

The towers along Ben Van Don generally control who comes in: many ask for contractors to be registered and materials declared, and allow work only at certain hours. Each building sets its own rules; usually it wants a list of the people coming, their identity documents and the equipment they bring. To prepare:

• Send us the tower, floor and unit number, or the house number and lane, and any working hours the building sets.
• Put food, crockery and small children's things into closed cupboards, and open the kitchen cabinets and built-in cupboards that are to be inspected.
• Plan for older relatives, babies and pets to be elsewhere for the hours our technicians give as the re-entry time.
• Leave treated positions unwashed and monitoring stations where they are until you are given instructions.

Our technicians re-inspect at the dates set in the quote; we remind you and keep the results. In a district with this much moisture, keeping the home dry is the household's main defence:

• After each high water, dry and air the ground floor; check the feet of door frames and kitchen cabinets.
• Have leaks and seepage in the bathroom, on the loggia and on the roof terrace repaired early.
• Keep cupboards and shelving off the wall, and no cardboard boxes directly on the ground-floor slab.
• On hot, humid evenings at the start of the rainy season, draw the curtains and use river-facing balcony lights sparingly: winged termites are drawn to light.
• If an apartment on your floor or a house in your row has just had termites, message us to arrange an inspection.
• To book, send photos of the kitchen cabinet, skirting or door frame you suspect to 0968 726 135 on WhatsApp or Zalo, with the tower name and unit number. We fix a time with our technicians and confirm it.
• On the working day the technicians treat while your Up specialist, identity-verified and trained to the Up Standard, watches each step, wipes down the floor and kitchen cabinets and returns furniture to the positions photographed at the start.
• The Up Report carries a floor plan with treated points and monitoring stations marked, comparison photos and the date we return.
• Change or cancel free of charge up to 24 hours ahead; inside 24 hours a 30% fee applies. Arrival more than 15 minutes after the confirmed time reduces that visit's invoice by 10%; lobby formalities after an on-time arrival are not counted.

The first enquiry, the quote, the booking confirmation and the Up Report can all be handled in English. If you want an English-speaking specialist on site, say so when you book; when none is available we tell you ahead of time and back the visit up by phone or message. Apartment buildings commonly require residents to register outside staff with building management beforehand, so we send your Up specialist's name and photo, with our technicians' details and equipment list.

You do not have to be present. A key can stay with building management, at reception or with family; it passes only through the hands of the assigned specialist, the times are noted and no copy is made. Set a temporary code on a smart lock; the closing walk-through can be held over a video call. Payment comes after it, by bank transfer or in cash. A larger job may carry a deposit, which the quote states, and invoices are issued on request under Vietnamese regulations to individuals and to companies.