Pest Control in St. Albans, Queens
St. Albans is a leafy, largely residential neighborhood in Southeast Queens known for its handsome detached homes and its deep roots in African American history. Linden Boulevard serves as the main commercial strip, lined with Caribbean restaurants, bakeries and small businesses, while Merrick Boulevard runs along the western side. The St. Albans stop on the Long Island Rail Road connects residents to Jamaica and Manhattan. Roy Wilkins Park, with ball fields, a pool and a family center, is a hub for community events. The Addisleigh Park section, with its Tudor and Colonial houses, is a designated historic district. Today the neighborhood is home to many African American and West Indian families, including multigenerational homeowners.
Also known as: Saint Albans, Addisleigh Park.
About St. Albans
St. Albans was named after the English town, and suburban lots were sold here beginning in the late nineteenth century as rail service arrived. Most homes went up between the 1910s and 1930s. In the 1940s and 1950s, Addisleigh Park became home to Black celebrities including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Jackie Robinson and Lena Horne, after legal fights struck down racially restrictive covenants. Roy Wilkins Park occupies land that was once part of the St. Albans Naval Hospital, whose Veterans Affairs successor still operates nearby.
Common Pest Problems in St. Albans
With older detached houses, mature street trees and deep backyards, St. Albans deals with more wildlife than many parts of Queens. Raccoons and opossums move between yards, garages and the edges of Roy Wilkins Park, and they frequently den beneath porches and sheds. Squirrels use overhanging branches to reach roof edges and are a regular cause of attic damage in Tudor homes with steep, complex rooflines and decorative wood trim.
The wood framing, stucco and brick-veneer construction of these 1910s to 1930s houses makes subterranean termite inspections important, especially where old wooden steps or planters touch the foundation. Mice enter through foundation cracks and around garage doors when the weather cools. Along Linden Boulevard and near the rail line, restaurant waste and dumpsters sustain rats that forage into nearby residential blocks, particularly where trash cans are left uncovered. Addisleigh Park's historic homes deserve extra care, since original woodwork is costly to replace.