Pest Control in Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a large, diverse neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn, stretching south from Prospect Park and Prospect Lefferts Gardens toward Midwood, with Ditmas Park and Kensington to the west and East Flatbush to the east. It is the center of Brooklyn's Little Caribbean, and Flatbush and Church Avenues are packed with Caribbean bakeries, roti shops, beauty supply stores and markets. Much of the population lives in large prewar apartment buildings, while nearby blocks hold Victorian houses. Landmarks include Erasmus Hall High School, the restored Kings Theatre and Brooklyn College at the Junction. The 2, 5, B and Q trains serve the area.
Also known as: Little Caribbean.
About Flatbush
Flatbush was one of the original six towns of Kings County, founded by the Dutch as Midwout in 1651. Erasmus Hall Academy, founded in 1786, is one of the oldest secondary schools in the country. The town was annexed to Brooklyn in 1894. The arrival of the subway in the early 1900s brought large apartment buildings along Flatbush and Ocean Avenues. Caribbean immigrants began arriving in large numbers in the 1960s and 1970s.
Common Pest Problems in Flatbush
Flatbush's large prewar apartment buildings, some with hundreds of units, can host major German cockroach problems when trash rooms, compactors and shared plumbing are not maintained. The dense commercial strips along Flatbush and Church Avenues produce significant food waste, supporting rats that forage in alleys and curbside bags. Mice easily enter buildings through basement doors, cracks in old foundations and utility lines. Crowded trash rooms that are only cleaned occasionally make these problems worse.
Where Flatbush meets the Victorian house districts, the homes have wooden framing, porches and garages that attract subterranean termites and provide shelter for squirrels. Mature street trees along side streets like Ocean Avenue give squirrels easy access to rooftops and attics. Raccoons are occasionally spotted in the backyards and garages of the Victorian houses as well. In the apartment buildings, mice often travel along heating pipes and through gaps where old radiators pass through floors, and roaches follow the same routes. Coordinated building-wide treatment is usually more effective than treating one unit at a time.