Pest Control in South Jamaica, Queens
South Jamaica stretches south of downtown Jamaica toward the edge of JFK Airport, roughly between the Van Wyck Expressway and the St. Albans border. It is mostly residential, a patchwork of modest detached and semi-detached homes, the South Jamaica Houses public housing development and the high-rise co-ops of Rochdale Village. Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Sutphin Boulevard and Merrick Boulevard carry most of the bus traffic and neighborhood shopping. Baisley Pond Park, with its large pond and ball fields, is the main green space. The community has long been a center of African American life in Queens, with growing Caribbean and South Asian populations, many churches and a strong homeowner presence.
Also known as: Rochdale, Rochdale Village.
About South Jamaica
This area was farmland until the early twentieth century, when streetcar lines and the growth of downtown Jamaica pushed modest house lots southward. Baisley Pond was once a mill pond and later part of Brooklyn's water supply system before becoming a park. The Jamaica Race Track operated here until 1959, and Rochdale Village, one of the largest housing cooperatives in the world when it opened in 1963, was built on the old track grounds. Public housing and postwar homes filled much of the rest.
Common Pest Problems in South Jamaica
Rats are the leading complaint in South Jamaica, and the setting explains why. Detached houses with backyards, garages and alleyways give rodents plenty of places to burrow, and the edges of Baisley Pond Park add water and cover. Vacant or neglected lots between homes can hold rat colonies that spill onto neighboring properties. In the larger buildings, including public housing and co-op towers, mice and German cockroaches spread through compactor rooms, shared walls and plumbing lines, so a problem in one apartment often points to activity in several.
Many of the one- and two-family homes here are wood-frame construction from the first half of the twentieth century, which makes subterranean termites a genuine concern. Swarms typically appear in spring around basement windows, porches and door frames. The park and the green buffer along the airport also support raccoons, which tear into garbage cans and sometimes move into garages, sheds or gaps under roof eaves. Homeowners near the pond also notice more activity from wildlife after dark.