Pest Control in Silver Lake, Staten Island
Silver Lake takes its name from the lake and reservoir that sit at the heart of Silver Lake Park, a long, green stretch between Victory Boulevard and Forest Avenue. The park includes a public golf course, walking paths and athletic fields, and it separates the neighborhood from the denser blocks closer to the harbor. Surrounding streets are lined with well-kept detached houses, many built between the 1920s and 1950s, with lawns and mature shade trees. The area is primarily residential, with shops nearby on Forest and Victory, and it is only a few minutes by bus from the St. George ferry.
Also known as: Sunnyside.
About Silver Lake
Silver Lake was a natural lake popular for skating and ice harvesting in the 1800s, and the surrounding land was farms and country estates. In the early twentieth century the city turned part of the site into a reservoir supplied by the Catskill water system and built the park and golf course around it. Residential streets filled in during the interwar years and after World War II, creating the single-family character the neighborhood keeps today.
Common Pest Problems in Silver Lake
With a large park, a golf course and a lake right in the middle of the neighborhood, Silver Lake homeowners share their streets with plenty of wildlife. Raccoons move from the park into backyards to raid trash and den under decks, while gray squirrels in the old shade trees make a habit of chewing into attic vents and soffits. Mice tend to show up in fall as temperatures drop and the golf course grass goes dormant, finding their way into garages and basements.
The houses themselves are mostly wood frame or brick with wood framing, and many are seventy to a hundred years old. Subterranean termites can reach sills and floor joists where soil meets wood, particularly beneath porches and additions. Carpenter ants and pavement ants also forage from damp tree stumps and lawn edges into kitchens. Rats are less of a presence than on the waterfront but appear where bird feeders or compost piles offer a steady supply of food.