NYC Pest Control & Exterminator Services

Why New York City Has So Many Pests

New York is one of the densest cities in the world, and that density is exactly what pests thrive on. More than eight million people live in tightly packed buildings that share walls, pipes, basements and trash areas. Restaurants, bodegas and street vendors line nearly every commercial corridor, and much of the city’s garbage still goes out in bags on the curb. For rats, mice and cockroaches, that means a nearly unlimited supply of food, water and shelter — and a network of connected spaces to move through.

The age of the housing stock matters just as much. A huge share of the city’s apartments are in prewar walk-ups, brownstones and tenements with century-old foundations, gaps around radiator and plumbing lines, and layers of renovations that leave hidden voids. Those spaces become highways for pests between units. Meanwhile, the outer boroughs have tens of thousands of wood-frame houses, porches, decks and yards where termites, carpenter ants and wildlife find opportunities that simply don’t exist in a Manhattan high-rise.

Rats: NYC’s Most Notorious Pest

The Norway rat (also called the brown rat) is the rat New Yorkers see in subway tracks, parks, backyards and curbside trash. They burrow in soil along building foundations, tree pits and park edges, and they can squeeze through openings about the size of a quarter. The city has invested heavily in rat mitigation — including containerized trash rules and targeted rat mitigation zones — but individual buildings still need professional baiting, burrow treatment and exclusion to stay rat-free. See our NYC rat control guide for more.

Mice: The Year-Round Indoor Invader

House mice are the most common rodent inside NYC apartments. They slip through gaps as small as a dime, nest inside walls and kitchen cabinets, and reproduce quickly. Activity spikes in the fall when temperatures drop, but in heated apartment buildings mice stay active all year. Effective mouse control combines sealing entry points with steel wool and metal mesh, strategic trapping or baiting, and sanitation fixes.

Cockroaches: German Roaches and “Waterbugs”

German cockroaches are the small, tan roaches that infest kitchens and bathrooms in apartment buildings. Larger American and Oriental cockroaches — often called waterbugs — come up from basements, sewers and drains, especially in summer. Because roaches spread between units through shared plumbing and wall voids, building-wide cockroach control with gel baits and growth regulators is usually far more effective than store-bought sprays.

Termites, Ants and Outer-Borough Pests

Eastern subterranean termites are active throughout the New York area and are a real threat to wood-frame homes in Staten Island, Queens, southern Brooklyn and the Bronx. Swarms of winged termites in spring are often the first sign. Carpenter ants, pavement ants and odorous house ants are common from spring through fall. In basements and ground-floor units, moisture-loving pests like centipedes, millipedes, silverfish and earwigs are frequent complaints. Learn more about termite control and ant control.

Wildlife in the City

With major green spaces like Central Park, Prospect Park, Pelham Bay Park, Forest Park and the Staten Island Greenbelt, New York supports a surprising amount of wildlife. Raccoons and squirrels regularly get into attics and chimneys, opossums and skunks den under porches and sheds, pigeons roost on ledges and air conditioners, and bats occasionally find their way into older homes. Licensed wildlife specialists handle raccoon removal, squirrel removal and bird control humanely and in compliance with state rules.

NYC Pest Calendar: What to Expect Each Season

Why Call a Licensed Exterminator Instead of DIY?

Over-the-counter sprays and foggers tend to scatter pests into neighboring walls and units rather than eliminating them — especially German cockroaches and mice in multi-family buildings. Licensed professionals have access to targeted products, know how to find the source of an infestation, and understand the building-by-building realities of New York housing. For wildlife, New York State requires licensed nuisance wildlife control operators for many removal jobs. A single call gets you connected with a local pro who can do the job right the first time.