Pest Control in Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights covers the high ridge of northern Manhattan roughly from 155th Street to Dyckman Street, between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. It is one of the largest Dominican communities in the United States, with Spanish-language businesses, bakeries, barbershops and bodegas filling St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street. The George Washington Bridge links the neighborhood to New Jersey, and the massive NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia medical center anchors its southern section. Highbridge Park lines the Harlem River edge, and the historic High Bridge connects to the Bronx. Housing consists mostly of large prewar apartment buildings. The A on Fort Washington Avenue and the 1 on Broadway serve the area.
Also known as: The Heights, Quisqueya Heights.
About Washington Heights
The area takes its name from Fort Washington, a Revolutionary War stronghold captured by the British in 1776. It remained a rural district of estates until the IRT subway arrived in 1906, triggering construction of large apartment buildings. Irish and Jewish immigrants, including German-Jewish refugees in the 1930s, settled here, followed by Greek, Cuban and Puerto Rican residents, and from the 1960s onward a large Dominican community.
Common Pest Problems in Washington Heights
Washington Heights' prewar elevator buildings and walk-ups house many families in close quarters, and shared walls, old plumbing and trash chutes allow German cockroaches and mice to spread easily. Ground-floor bodegas, bakeries and restaurants along St. Nicholas and Amsterdam Avenues attract roaches that migrate upward. Rats forage along busy commercial strips and in the rocky, wooded slopes of Highbridge Park. Building courtyards and basements add more hiding spots for rodents.
Pigeons roost heavily around the George Washington Bridge approach, the bus terminal and on building ledges, making bird-control useful for owners and residents. Squirrels from Highbridge Park and the parks along the Hudson sometimes find their way into rooftops and window units. The medical center's large complex and its loading docks generate waste that attracts rats, and the rocky, overgrown slopes of Highbridge Park provide undisturbed cover for rodents close to residential buildings along Amsterdam Avenue.