October 30, 2009

Mice in Bed-Stuy

We've been renting a floor-thru in a brownstone for a year and a half. We saw a mouse when we first moved in, but after plugging in some holes we went an entire year before seeing another one. Five months ago, we started seeing a mouse and/or droppings almost everyday. We suspect it is because the next building over had construction work done. We've plugged more holes. Our landlord had a handyman come in to plug additional holes.

We have used glue traps and poison, but neither have worked. We keep the kitchen super clean and throw out the garbage regularly. The only thing that was effective was peppermint oil but only for about a week.

Our landlord does not want to hire an exterminator. She doesn't seem to think mice are that big of a deal. "This is NYC" she says. Also, she thinks an exterminator will just lay down poison which she could do herself.

Any other suggestions for things we can do? Is it worth us hiring an exterminator to just work on our floor or is it only effective if the whole building is done?

October 27, 2009

Pest Control Necessary?

How necessary is regular pest control? We just bought and moved into a 2-family brownstone. The sellers had been getting Orkin's anti-roach gel treatment 4x/year and say they never saw bugs. We've also seen nothing in the weeks we've been there. We'd been planning to continue the quarterly treatments, but when we asked the Orkin guy how often he treats his own home, he chuckled and said, "Never." I appreciate his honesty and am now wondering about the necessity of preventative treatments. I may scale back to 2x/year or eliminate the treatments altogether, calling an exterminator in the event I see a roach. Are preventative treatments really necessary?

October 5, 2009

Unusual Bug Infestation

After having nearly any bug problems in the many, many years I've been in my home...new tenants who JUST moved in on the top floor alerted me last night to an infestation they seemed to have in their bedroom (top floor, rear window where there IS a good deal of ivy hanging).

I've never seen anything like this...brownish/black insects about 1/2 - 3/4 long with legs and wings. They seem to be coming in droves. They appear to me to be more of an "outdoor" bug...maybe in the beetle family, but I really don't know.

Our plan is to cut back the ivy today, but I wonder if anyone has had a similar problem, might know what this bug is, and most importantly....can anyone recommend a good exterminator???!!!

Many thanks.