Pest Control in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a large neighborhood in the center of Brooklyn, bounded roughly by Flushing Avenue on the north, Atlantic Avenue on the south, Classon Avenue on the west and Broadway on the east. It is home to one of the largest collections of intact Victorian brownstones in the country, especially in the Stuyvesant Heights area. For generations Bed-Stuy has been a cornerstone of African American and Caribbean culture in New York, with deep churches, community organizations and a proud history. Fulton Street is the main commercial corridor, while Nostrand Avenue and Tompkins Avenue have newer cafes and restaurants. The A, C, G, J, M and Z trains serve the neighborhood.
Also known as: Bed-Stuy, Stuyvesant Heights, Bedford.
About Bedford-Stuyvesant
The area combines two old villages, Bedford and Stuyvesant Heights. After the subway reached Fulton Street in 1936, many Black families moved from Harlem, and Bed-Stuy grew into one of New York's most important Black communities. In 1967 the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation became the nation's first community development corporation, with support from Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The brownstones built between the 1870s and early 1900s remain the neighborhood's signature, many protected by historic district designations.
Common Pest Problems in Bedford-Stuyvesant
Bed-Stuy's rows of 19th-century brownstones share walls, backyards and old sewer lines, so rats and mice move easily from one property to the next. Backyard gardens, compost piles and the busy food businesses along Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue give rodents plenty to eat. Many homes have original brick foundations and wooden floors with small gaps that mice use to enter and nest inside walls, particularly in colder months. Neglected vacant lots between restored homes can also shelter rodent colonies.
German cockroaches are common in the neighborhood's multifamily brownstones and prewar apartment buildings. The many mature street trees and Herbert Von King Park support gray squirrels that sometimes chew into roof cornices and attics. Long-established homes with wool rugs and antique furnishings also experience clothes moths, while damp brownstone basements are prime spots for silverfish. Moisture from leaky old plumbing makes those basements even more inviting. Cardboard storage in those cellars gives silverfish food as well.