Pest Control in Breezy Point, Queens
Breezy Point occupies the far western tip of the Rockaway Peninsula, west of Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden, where the ocean meets the mouth of Jamaica Bay. The area is a private, gated cooperative community that includes the sections of Breezy Point, Roxbury and Rockaway Point. Homes are closely packed along narrow pedestrian walkways, and many started as summer bungalows before being expanded into year-round houses. The dunes and beaches of the Breezy Point Tip, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, lie at the western end. The community is known for its strong Irish American heritage, with many residents who are firefighters, police officers and other city workers.
Also known as: Roxbury, Rockaway Point, Breezy Point Cooperative.
About Breezy Point
Breezy Point grew as a summer bungalow colony in the early twentieth century, with families renting lots on land owned by private companies. In 1960, residents formed a cooperative and bought the land, which kept the community private and helped it avoid large-scale development. Over time many bungalows were winterized and enlarged for year-round living. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, flooding and a massive fire destroyed more than one hundred homes, and the community has since rebuilt much of its housing.
Common Pest Problems in Breezy Point
Breezy Point's closely packed wood-frame homes sit on sandy, damp soil, making subterranean termites a real threat. Many homes started as bungalows with limited foundations, and wood framing, decks and walkways close to the ground offer termites easy access. Houses rebuilt after the 2012 fire and flood still need monitoring, because the tight spacing between homes lets a colony under one lot reach the next, and shared walkways of wood hold moisture after storms.
The dunes, beach grass and open land of Fort Tilden and Breezy Point Tip give raccoons plenty of places to live, and they often get into garbage, sheds and the crawl spaces beneath raised homes. Mice seek shelter indoors in fall, and rats sometimes follow the bay shoreline into yards. Earwigs are common in damp garden beds, and spiders collect around exterior lights and along walkways at night. Walkways lined with shrubs and planters give these pests more cover near doors.