Pest Control in South Beach, Staten Island
South Beach sits on Staten Island's East Shore just below the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, facing Lower New York Bay. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach, one of the longest boardwalks in the country, runs along its shoreline, and Father Capodanno Boulevard carries traffic parallel to the sand. Inland, streets are packed with small detached homes, many of them former summer bungalows, along with two-family houses and apartment complexes. Ocean Breeze Park, with its athletic complex and restored wetlands, lies to the south. The neighborhood draws walkers, cyclists and anglers year-round, and on clear days offers wide views of the bridge and the Brooklyn shoreline.
About South Beach
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries South Beach was a popular seaside resort, with amusement parks, hotels and bathing pavilions that drew crowds by ferry and trolley. Pollution and the decline of the amusements led to a downturn by the mid-1900s, and many summer bungalows were converted to year-round homes. The city rebuilt the boardwalk in the 1930s under the WPA. Hurricane Sandy flooded much of the low-lying neighborhood in 2012, prompting raised rebuilding and new coastal protections.
Common Pest Problems in South Beach
South Beach's low elevation and nearby wetlands keep soil and crawlspaces damp much of the year, and that moisture shapes its pest problems. Many small bungalows sit on piers or shallow foundations with wood close to the ground, giving subterranean termites easy access, and homes that flooded during Hurricane Sandy may still have hidden water-damaged framing. Earwigs and house centipedes thrive in the humid crawlspaces and basements, wandering indoors during summer and after heavy storms push water up through the soil.
The boardwalk, beach concessions and heavy summer crowds generate food waste that supports Norway rats, which burrow in dunes, under decks and beneath the many raised homes. Mice move into converted bungalows through gaps around old plumbing and foundation vents, especially in fall when the shore empties out. Raccoons range along the wetlands of Ocean Breeze and into backyards, where they tip garbage cans, raid barbecues and look for dry spots under porches.