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It is less about the building (although it matters) and more about the tenants that are in the building. It only takes one tenant in a 100 unit building to attract roaches/rats/mice/bedbugs.
Examples:
1. Maybe one tenant likes to buy second hand furniture...bed bugs can live in furniture and will infest their apt and travel to everyother apt in the building.
2. If you have one unclean/dirty/messy tenant who leaves food out etc, they will be ground zero for mice/roaches and no matter how clean you are, their apt will spread roaches/mice all over the building.
The only thing you can really do is not live in a building with a restaurant (any kind of restuarant even the "nice" ones, and also bodegas, they are known for hosting rats/mice). Other than that it is really out of your hands...it takes only one person to ruin a building.
so true..wish more ppl took care of them selves and gave two dips for neighbors who may not want to live with bugs....
I had one mouse over the summer. I had an exterminator come and seal pretty much every single hole in my apartment. What he told me was every building has pests and it's what you do to your unit to seal it off that makes your apartment pest free. He did tell me that the number one cause of mice was new appliances. I had just gotten a new dishwasher and they had to drill a new hole which was bigger, and a lost mouse got in that way. After it was sealed off I never saw the mouse, knock on wood.
It was literally Ohiogirl vs the mouse for about 2 weeks and I had about 30 traps out in my 400sq ft apartment.
I do occasionally see a roach stuck to the traps in the basement. Sometimes I see one dead on the steps that I assume the cats got to. People in my building let their cats roam in the hall. Out hallway also has windows without screens that are kept open in the summer for air circulation and I'd imagine some bugs get in that way.
I had one mouse over the summer. I had an exterminator come and seal pretty much every single hole in my apartment. What he told me was every building has pests and it's what you do to your unit to seal it off that makes your apartment pest free. He did tell me that the number one cause of mice was new appliances. I had just gotten a new dishwasher and they had to drill a new hole which was bigger, and a lost mouse got in that way. After it was sealed off I never saw the mouse, knock on wood.
It was literally Ohiogirl vs the mouse for about 2 weeks and I had about 30 traps out in my 400sq ft apartment.
I do occasionally see a roach stuck to the traps in the basement. Sometimes I see one dead on the steps that I assume the cats got to. People in my building let their cats roam in the hall. Out hallway also has windows without screens that are kept open in the summer for air circulation and I'd imagine some bugs get in that way.
In this one Washington Heights apt I used to see them coming in through the windows in the hallway, crossing the hall from the elevator shaft, coming out from under the door of this one gnarly neighbor, and of course swarming around the trash chute. That place was the worst. 191 & Broadway - wow SO glad we moved
they travel everywhere. New,Old, Park Ave, South Bronx.
roaches if the building has them the only thing you can do is put some boric acid around. Mice stuff any holes with steel wool. Rats..........move fast. bugs on the street spray on a repellent.
be careful with exterminators I lived in a building and it made everyone sick and the building had to be evacuated for a week.
The best way to avoid bugs is to move into a newly constructed apartment building with quality tenants. Make sure that 'luxury' is the buildings selling point. Bugs are not a luxury item!
That said rent will be more costly than average.
Old buildings in old working class/poor neighborhoods s/b avoided.
If money is an issue, then look into private 2 to 4 family homes with the LL living on premises and is well maintained.
The best way to avoid bugs is to move into a newly constructed apartment building with quality tenants. Make sure that 'luxury' is the buildings selling point. Bugs are not a luxury item!
That said rent will be more costly than average.
Old buildings in old working class/poor neighborhoods s/b avoided.
If money is an issue, then look into private 2 to 4 family homes with the LL living on premises and is well maintained.
Many newly constructed apts like TRUMP buildings have issues with bugs and mice/rats waterbugs. They are not going to tell future buyers or renters that they have these issues.......and what if the clean family next door to you in the luxury building moves out and a hoarder moves in. There are a lot of RICH people living in brand new luxury buildings that are not clean and hoarders and if that Luxury building has retail food shops ...........BUGS
BTW NYC has a RAT issue http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new-york-city-rat-control-worries-20100331-kc (broken link)
TO THE ORIG POSTER: What are you going to do when you pound the pavement, take the subway, go to a retail shop restaurant, visit someone you are going to met some pests, the company you work for may be in a building with loads of pests. BTW NYC has a bed bug issue in Victoria's Secret, Several Hotels, and A movie house to name a few. Grocery stores are notorious for bugs.
Don't think you need to avoid old buildings entirely though. I'm in a pre-war walk-up (no retail below, just a brownstone) and have never seen a pest of any kind in my apartment or in the building itself, for that matter. The building brings in the exterminator every month, but I think it's more preventative than anything.
I do agree that buildings above restaurants and/or bodegas are more likely to have problems with pests.
I'm curious about why/how keeping the sink dry keeps them away—can anyone explain?
What helps is finding your own professional exterminator, and call as needed. You're welcome to try the one that the building provides for free (although you certainly don't need it every month), but they tend not to be very good. If you try them, make sure you're there, follow them around to make sure they do a complete job, and move furniture or open closet doors to help them. Shouldn't be a problem.
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