Pest Control in City Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island in western Long Island Sound, about a mile and a half long, connected to the Bronx mainland by the City Island Bridge from Pelham Bay Park. It feels more like a New England fishing village than part of New York City, with clapboard houses, boatyards, marinas and yacht clubs lining its shores. City Island Avenue runs the length of the island, lined with seafood restaurants, antique shops and galleries, and it draws crowds on summer weekends. The City Island Nautical Museum preserves the island's maritime history. Residents, sometimes called clamdiggers if born on the island, are a close-knit community, and the Bx29 bus links them to the 6 train.
Also known as: The Island.
About City Island
The island was part of the Pell family's lands in the 1600s, and in the 1760s investors hoped to develop it as a port rivaling Manhattan, which is how it got its name. Instead it became a center of shipbuilding, oystering and sailmaking, and several America's Cup yachts were built here in the 20th century. Wooden houses from the 1800s and early 1900s still line its streets, and the island joined New York City in 1895.
Common Pest Problems in City Island
City Island's historic wood-frame houses, shingled cottages and waterfront decks make it one of the most termite-susceptible places in the Bronx. Subterranean termites thrive in the sandy, moist soil near the shoreline and attack sills, porches, decks and wooden bulkheads, often causing damage long before homeowners notice. Carpenter ants also nest in damp, softened wood around windows and roof edges, and a few mild winters can let their colonies grow quickly.
Raccoons are common across the island, living in the wooded edges near the bridge and in Pelham Bay Park just across the channel. They den in crawl spaces, attics and under porches. The busy restaurant strip along City Island Avenue generates food waste that supports rats, which also burrow along seawalls and boatyards. Mice find their way into older homes through gaps in weathered siding and foundations, and earwigs gather in damp mulch and under stones before wandering indoors.