Pest Control in Morningside Heights, Manhattan
Morningside Heights sits on a plateau between Morningside Park and Riverside Park, roughly from 110th to 125th Streets. It is dominated by academic and religious institutions, including Columbia University, Barnard College, the Union Theological Seminary, the Manhattan School of Music, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church. Many residents are students, faculty and staff living in university-owned apartments, alongside longtime families in prewar buildings. Broadway serves as the main commercial strip, with bookstores, diners and casual restaurants. Riverside Park and Grant's Tomb offer greenery along the Hudson. The 1 train at 110th, 116th and 125th Streets serves the neighborhood.
Also known as: Columbia, Academic Acropolis.
About Morningside Heights
The area was home to the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum in the nineteenth century. In the 1890s, Columbia University purchased the asylum land and moved its campus here, followed by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, begun in 1892, and other institutions. Elegant apartment buildings rose along Riverside Drive and Broadway in the early 1900s, creating the dense academic neighborhood seen today.
Common Pest Problems in Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights has a large student population, and constant moves in and out of dorms and apartments can introduce pests. Older prewar buildings, many university-owned, have shared walls and pipe chases that allow German cockroaches and mice to spread. Restaurants and takeout spots along Broadway and Amsterdam produce food waste that attracts rats. University dining halls and cafes nearby also generate significant food waste during the busy fall and spring school terms.
Two major parks bracket the neighborhood: Morningside Park's steep rocky slopes and Riverside Park's plantings host rats and squirrels, and squirrels occasionally move into roof spaces or around window units. Silverfish are common in damp basements and bathrooms of old buildings and in collections of books and papers. Pigeons roost on the ornate stonework of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Riverside Church and campus buildings, and older buildings with steam heat can hold humidity that silverfish love.