Pest Control in Forest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is an affluent, leafy neighborhood between Rego Park and Kew Gardens, anchored by Queens Boulevard and the shopping and dining district on Austin Street. Its best-known section, Forest Hills Gardens, is a private planned community of Tudor-style homes, winding streets and village greens around Station Square and the LIRR station. North of the boulevard, blocks of elevator co-ops house a large population of families and retirees, including a sizable Jewish community. The 71st Avenue station serves the E, F, M and R, while the LIRR offers a quick ride to Penn Station. Forest Park borders the neighborhood to the south, and the historic Forest Hills Stadium hosts concerts each summer.
Also known as: Forest Hills Gardens.
About Forest Hills
The Cord Meyer Development Company bought farmland here in 1906 and named it Forest Hills for its proximity to Forest Park. In 1909 the Russell Sage Foundation began Forest Hills Gardens, designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and architect Grosvenor Atterbury as a model garden suburb. The West Side Tennis Club hosted the U.S. Open until 1977. Subway service along Queens Boulevard in 1936 spurred the large apartment buildings north of the tracks.
Common Pest Problems in Forest Hills
Forest Hills splits into two very different pest environments. In the apartment co-ops along Queens Boulevard and the streets to its north, mice and German cockroaches are the everyday concerns, traveling through plumbing risers, garbage rooms and shared walls. Restaurants along Austin Street and Queens Boulevard support rats, which forage in tree pits and behind storefronts. Stored wool coats and rugs in deep closets of older co-ops are also prone to clothes moths.
In Forest Hills Gardens and the detached-home blocks near Forest Park, wildlife dominates. Squirrels live in the mature oaks and maples and frequently chew into attics and slate roof edges of the Tudor houses. Raccoons move in from Forest Park to den in chimneys, under porches and in garages. The old masonry and tile roofs of these homes have many small gaps, so attic inspections are important for keeping squirrels, raccoons and mice out.