A Step-By-Step Guide to Cockroach Control For Your NYC Townhouse, Apartment, Condo, or Airbnb
Living in close proximity to your neighbors in NYC offers a specific set of challenges when it comes to cockroaches. Because you are sharing walls, pipes, vents, and trash receptacles, you will often end up sharing pest problems as well. This urban environment is perfect for roaches with plenty of sources of food and shelter.
When you live in NYC, it is both uncomfortable and a health risk to have roaches in your home. But if you manage an apartment or run an Airbnb, a cockroach infestation can also have significant consequences for your finances and reputation if tenants or guests notice the bugs. This step-by-step guide can help you keep your space clean, healthy, and more likely to be free of cockroaches.
Identifying Roaches in a Multi-Family Housing Environment
Seeing a single roach is always a sign of a much larger problem, but the chance that you will see even that sign is low. Cockroaches are generally nocturnal and will only be active during the day when the population is large or food is scarce. Otherwise, they are creative hiders that are able to squeeze into tiny spaces.
Whether you live in your unit or only visit for maintenance and cleaning, you are more likely to see signs of roaches such as shed skins, droppings that resemble coffee grounds, smears of oils on walls and floors, and a musty smell that is similar to mold.
Steps to Prevent and Get Rid of Roaches
If you have not noticed any signs of roaches or your tenants have not reported any issues, there is a good chance there are no roaches in your building. The next step for your roach control is prevention to make sure cockroaches cannot get in later on. The best prevention steps are:
- Deep Clean Your Space – Food crumbs, sticky residue, grease, and clutter on the floor all make a space a hot spot for roaches. If it has been a while since you have done a deep cleaning, take time to vacuum, sweep, mop, and pick up belongings off the floor. Although you cannot control what other building residents are doing, keeping your space clean will at least reduce the risk.
- Maintain a Regular Cleaning Schedule – Continue to keep things clean with regular dish washing and sweeping. For building supers, clean common areas and trash receptacles.
- Seal Off Access Points – This can be challenging when cockroaches are already inside the building and moving between units, but locating any cracks and sealing them can physically keep roaches from spreading in a home.
If roaches are already inside, it is best to hire a pest control company. Cockroaches breed too fast for solutions like glue traps to work, and many species in NYC are resistant to over-the-counter cockroach treatments. Especially in multi-family buildings where roaches can more easily move from one unit to another, professional pest control is the only way to be sure that roaches are gone.
24 Hour Pest Control NYC has solutions that work specifically for apartments, condos, and other living spaces that share walls with options that get rid of cockroaches in a single dwelling or can protect the entire building. Our cockroach treatments are effective and safe for your family, tenants, guests, and anyone else who may be living in the building. Contact us today to learn more.
