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Gosh, joking aside, I'm still a bit scared of what I might find in NYC! It's hard to imagine 17 million people living in a rat/roach infested place, but from what I'm hearing, they do! I grew up in central Florida where we had orange groves nearby and some orange trees in our backyard. We certainly saw a lot of roaches and some rats. And I hated it!
If I moved to NYC, I'd be making ~$60K a year. I would live with roommates, but it looks like I'd still be stuck in an older building. My phobia of rats and roaches may keep me from moving to New York.
$60K isn't enough to get you past the roaches, but with diligence in seeking a place, you may make past the mice. Only in the most disgusting ghettoe circumstance would you have to deal with rats.
As a single, $100K should get you past it all...
At least in your personal living space, and your work place, but out in public in the subway, for example, at some point you will see mice and/or rats.
I only say this as I feel you all, maybe in jest, a presenting an inaccurate picture.
OP, alot of the posters live in very old buildings in not the best neighborhoods. So their experience is pretty much couched by these two facts. Along with the reality, you pay for what you get.
The bacterias that mice and rats carry can kill you. In 1998 I had cleaned a unventilated room that was full of mice feces and urine. Soon after I got sick. I became septic. I spent 102 days in ICU and eight month in a nursing home. Don't be stupid like I was.
$60K isn't enough to get you past the roaches, but with diligence in seeking a place, you may make past the mice. Only in the most disgusting ghettoe circumstance would you have to deal with rats.
As a single, $100K should get you past it all...
At least in your personal living space, and your work place, but out in public in the subway, for example, at some point you will see mice and/or rats.
Oh please! Can we just stop all this nonsense and misinformation? Now you need to have a household income at or > $60K to live in vermin free housing for NYC? Where do you people get this stuff?
There are plenty of persons living at all income levels both high and low that have perfectly vermin free housing. Just as equally there are plenty living the same including luxury/high income properties that have all sorts of vermin including rodents. Last time one checked rats and mice do not require a DDB or credit check before invading a building or apartment.
Speak to any NYC exterminator and they will tell you the same. Better yet just walk around the UWS (especially CPW going several blocks west off the Park) and ditto for Fifth Avenue on the UES and going east and you'll not only see rats running around tree beds, coming up from sewer grates, in plastic bin liners on the streets, but see evidence of rodent activity (torn rubbish bags, gnawed holes, brush markings, bait stations and or traps), but every now and then exterminators making visiting buildings and going "upstairs" to units.
Mice in particular are in most if not all NYC larger buildings to some extent. That they remain in the basements or are seen in one or two apartments tells that they exist. Rats OTHO are also in many basements but a lid is kept on the thing and if the property own is proactive any infestation is nipped in the bud.
A coworker lives on the UES and while one does not know her exact wage it is a pretty good guess both she and her neighbors in building earn at or more than $60K by mere virtue they are where they are. Anyway her building has had rat problems (in the basements) off and on during her tenure (about fifteen years) including one instance when she woke up for work on AM to find one near her radiator. To their credit the super and building owners reacted ASAP with exterminator summoned both to her unit and into the basement. She found out years later about ten were caught/disposed of after her event but the building did not tell her nor other residents for fear of causing an alarm.
Fast forward to about two years ago the same woman was going out of her apartment past the recycling bins and a huge rat ran out. She of course screamed and headed back to her apartment where she remained until the super came home. The thing apparently went back down into the basements (door to same was open), and when the exterminator finally arrived several days later a program of clearing out began. Mind you the place had a sudden and severe mice infestation for several months prior, and it turned out the then exterminating service was useless. New company used traps and one assumes heavy duty poison because the rats were gone. Another plague however visited the building in the form of flies. Woman couldn't understand why her apartment and building had such a large amount of flies in dead cold winter. While discussing this at lunch one of the mailroom guys was passing overheard and explained what happened. Apparently the flies were types of carrion insects coming from the dead mice (or rats?) in basement and walls.
Every Fall and Winter you cannot find mouse bait and or traps at most Duane Read or such stores in many parts of NYC including Manhattan below Harlem. As these are not all *poor* areas one assumes a good number of households with annual income at or over $60K are having rodent problems.
I saw a video on youtube-ok, it was on youtube because it was funny and likely not entirely the norm- and it was something along the lines of 'why you don't sleep on the NYC subway'. And it showed a gigantic rat-perhaps the honey badger himself- running around and hopping all over a sleeping man and just going where it pleased. No matter how intoxciated I might have gotten during the night prior, I would not be able to stomach something like that running around and jumping on people.
What about just walking down city streets? If I walk down Bleeker St. from place to place, am I going to have to dodge rats? lol
Grew up in Jamaica, NY. I've seen roaches here n' there, but no mice/rats. My mom and stepdad owned a home in St. Albans.
I used to live in a railroad flat walkup on the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal back in the early 80's. The pullchain toilet was in a small closet in the hallway. The tub was a clawfoot in the kitchen. $825/mo., good times
I baked a couple of frozen pizzas for my bf and I, ate one and left the other in the oven after turning it off (I was 18 LOL) anyway I forgot about it, went back later, opened the oven door and who should i see but a little mouse hanging out on top of the pizza.....ahaha I nearly lost my mind.
We put down some old school mouse traps in the kitchen, turned out the lights and went into the bedroom. Snap! Snapsnapsnap! Haha what a mess, my bf had quite the cleanup job. We'd keep putting traps down, and hearing a snap or two every night
I used to dance at Danceteria and my bf was a bartender there. We'd be walking home after close, and would see dozens of big ass rats running around Washington Square Park
I even had the audacity to live in a basement apartment in the Bronx, on Tremont Ave. no less. I'm surprised I wasn't eaten alive or attacked while sleeping. I had a job at Alexander's on Fordham Rd. and thought I was the shizz.....Cotdam I was such a dumazz
'81, '82, '83, '84....the best time of my life. I believe the mice will be more prevalent in older buildings, that's just how it is in NYC
I miss you guys!!! NYC forever! Go OP, don't be scurred. If you take the advice of other posters and be proactive (steel wool, pest control for roaches, keeping the place clean, etc) you'll be ok.
Many persons in NYC apartments do not realize they have mice until they see "one". Then assuming that is what they are working with purchase one trap or bait thing from Duane Read or some such place. Fun starts when more keep coming! *LOL*
It is rare to have just "one" mouse and if you do better tend to the matter before the thing breeds.
Rats OTOH you *KNOW* when they are around. Given their size and habits if they are in your apartment the signs and often sounds are obvious.
Washington Square Park was once a grave yard and execution site (hanging). The spaces created by now long ago rotted away coffins make for excellent underground homes for rats. Even today walking around or in WSQ you see huge rats.
Also there is a long buried body of water under WSP - Minnetta Brook, and just as with Collects Pond downtown rats love being around water. In fact the area that is now WSP was once marshland, again a place rats love.
You'll see rats outside in all types of neighborhoods, from the super wealthy to the poverty-ridden. And, given that many homes in NYC are connected, you run a fair risk of having vermin come through your property, no matter how clean you keep it; they may come through the basement, walls, ceilings, etc. Of course, keeping your place clean helps in keeping them out, but I'd encourage people to have cats as well. We had a mouse problem for a while, but, as soon as we got our cat, the problem was solved! (The mice were so brazen that they'd come out with everyone was downstairs, which was a major embarrassment when we had guests, etc. We saw a huge increase in mouse sightings inside and rat sightings outside when they started the heavy housing construction/construction of Atlantic Yards/etc.).
You'll see rats outside in all types of neighborhoods, from the super wealthy to the poverty-ridden. And, given that many homes in NYC are connected, you run a fair risk of having vermin come through your property, no matter how clean you keep it; they may come through the basement, walls, ceilings, etc. Of course, keeping your place clean helps in keeping them out, but I'd encourage people to have cats as well. We had a mouse problem for a while, but, as soon as we got our cat, the problem was solved! (The mice were so brazen that they'd come out with everyone was downstairs, which was a major embarrassment when we had guests, etc. We saw a huge increase in mouse sightings inside and rat sightings outside when they started the heavy housing construction/construction of Atlantic Yards/etc.).
Both mice and rats are normally ground dwelling (with exceptions such as roof rats), so yes anytime the earth is disturbed it can cause problems. Before the SAS construction began the MTA and City sent out media notices to all property owners in the construction area to look for signs of rodents in their basements/around buildings.
Because most buildings in NYC to some extent have mice and or rats by NYC law for several weeks before major construction begins such as demolition the property must be baited with rodenticide. Ditto for property such as fields or vacant lots for the same reason.
Where you have cellars/basements there is a good chance of rodents. Many NYC brownstone/townhouses have several basements (they were used for things such as kitchens, storing food/roots before refrigeration etc...) so you never know what could be down below. Unless everything is kept well sealed sooner or later visitors will arrive.
Worse thing about many parts of NYC today including buildings in Manhattan is that rubbish is often stored in basements. This can act as an attractant and feeding source for rodents.
Back in the day when trash was burned buildings had incinerators or persons took their rubbish out into the back yards (brownstones) to burn. Either way you didn't have garbage sitting for one or more days indoors. When NYC banned incinerators/burning of rubbish it was supposed to be mitigated by trash collection at least three times per week. Thus in theory rubbish is not sitting on or around properties long. However again if not property stored and or those days rack up you can have problems.
By and large the worse thing NYC did was stop allowing burning of rubbish and allowing plastic bags instead of metal cans for collection. Those plastic bin liners are like putting out buffet courses for mice and rats.
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