Pest Control in Park Slope, Brooklyn
Park Slope rises from Fourth Avenue up to the western edge of Prospect Park, stretching from Flatbush Avenue in the north to around Prospect Expressway in the south. It is famous for its remarkable collection of brownstones and limestone row houses, many in the Park Slope Historic District. Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue are the main shopping streets, lined with restaurants, bakeries and boutiques. The neighborhood is especially popular with families, and strollers are a common sight near the park and Grand Army Plaza. South Slope, below Ninth Street, has more frame houses and smaller buildings. The F, G, R, 2, 3, B and Q trains all serve different parts of the neighborhood.
Also known as: The Slope, South Slope.
About Park Slope
The land was once farms and estates, and the Battle of Brooklyn was fought in part near the Old Stone House in 1776. After Prospect Park opened in the late 1860s and the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, wealthy families built mansions and brownstones along the park. Park Slope was one of the richest communities in the country around 1900. After a mid-century decline, brownstoners restored the houses starting in the 1960s, and the historic district was designated in 1973.
Common Pest Problems in Park Slope
Prospect Park's woods and lawns border the whole eastern edge of Park Slope, and the wildlife there regularly spills onto nearby blocks. Gray squirrels frequently get into brownstone attics and roof cornices, and raccoons occasionally nest in chimneys, rear decks and garages near the park. Rats and mice are also common, fueled by backyard gardens, compost bins and the busy restaurant trash on Fifth and Seventh Avenues. Food scraps left in backyards and on stoops for wildlife only make the problem worse.
Brownstones and prewar buildings from the late 1800s have many hidden voids where mice nest and travel. Cockroaches can be a concern in apartment buildings and in homes divided into multiple units. Many families in older homes also deal with clothes moths, which damage wool sweaters, rugs and upholstered furniture stored in closets and old wardrobes. Some prewar apartment buildings along Prospect Park West and Eighth Avenue have long shared plumbing risers, and roaches can travel between floors through them. Busy households with frequent deliveries and packages can also carry roaches in unintentionally.