Pest Control in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx
Spuyten Duyvil occupies the steep, wooded southern tip of the Riverdale ridge, where Spuyten Duyvil Creek meets the Hudson River across from Inwood in Manhattan. The Henry Hudson Bridge crosses the creek here, and Henry Hudson Park, with its tall monument column topped by a statue of the explorer, sits near the bridge approach. Narrow roads such as Palisade Avenue, Johnson Avenue and Kappock Street wind past co-op buildings, Tudor-style houses and old estates with sweeping river views. Metro-North's Hudson Line stops at Spuyten Duyvil station at the water's edge. The neighborhood is quiet and largely residential, with shopping on nearby Johnson Avenue and in Kingsbridge.
Also known as: Spuyten Duyvil Hill.
About Spuyten Duyvil
The name comes from Dutch, and it is usually translated as spouting devil or in spite of the devil, referring to the treacherous tidal currents of the creek. The area was farmland and summer estates through the 1800s. The Henry Hudson Bridge opened in 1936 as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway, and apartment buildings and co-ops were built on the slopes in the following decades.
Common Pest Problems in Spuyten Duyvil
Spuyten Duyvil is one of the most wooded corners of the city, and the steep slopes around Henry Hudson Park and the river bluffs shelter raccoons and squirrels that readily move into attics, chimneys and roof spaces of the neighborhood's detached houses. Raccoons also frequent the trash areas of co-op buildings along Johnson Avenue and Kappock Street. Houses tucked into hillsides can have gaps at the rooflines and eaves where animals get in.
Mice are a steady concern in both houses and apartment buildings, especially in fall. The dampness that comes with being built into rocky slopes near the water gives basements and garages a cool, humid microclimate where centipedes thrive, and residents often find them in laundry rooms and bathrooms. Pavement ants and carpenter ants are common in spring, particularly around stone retaining walls, patios and older wooden decks, where moisture softens the wood and gives colonies an easy place to nest.