Roaches and insects are an unwelcome tenant that you DON’T have to host in your apartment.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Seeing a mouse or a cockroach in your apartment, or suspecting you have bedbugs, is no fun. Your feelings may range from added stress and annoyance to abject fear or disgust. You may be panicking trying to determine how this could have happened, or what you can possibly do as a next step. Fortunately, we’re here to help.
First, it’s important to know all the facts about a pest problem. While a rodent, roach, or bedbug infestation is not necessarily likely to occur with a furnished apartment rental, it’s certainly not uncommon. In 2013, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted around 95,000 inspections based on rodent complaints in areas throughout the five boroughs. In New York City, the most common apartment pests are:
Learn how to identify common New York City household pests so you’ll be better-equipped to get rid of them.
The good news is, you don’t need to panic if you see rodents or insects in your apartment. Bedbug infestations are irritating and upsetting, but not known to spread disease, and while roaches and rodents can pose health risks if left unmanaged, immediate risks are generally low and can be managed before becoming a large-scale infestation.
I saw a pest—now what?
Fortunately, if you find unwelcome creatures in your apartment, there are simple steps you can take to remedy the problem as soon as possible.
1. First, send an email or make a phone call to your apartment’s owner or landlord and let them know what you saw and where. Try to include as much detail as possible!
2. Get in touch with your New York Habitat agent next and alert them to the issue. We’ll coordinate with our Quality Assurance department to follow up with the owner.
3. Keep in touch with your apartment’s owner for full instructions about when and what you can expect from the exterminator.
4. If you have trouble reaching the owner, we can act as a liaison on your behalf.
In the meantime, there are also steps you can take to protect your belongings and living space and aid professional exterminators in effectively cleaning your apartment.
Follow these 6 steps as soon as possible to prepare your apartment for extermination.
In the case of bedbugs, a few extra steps should be taken right away: Wash and dry clothing on the highest possible heat and a double cycle, and store in a sealed plastic bag until extermination is complete. Wash and dry all bedding on highest possible heat/double cycle as well. Ask your landlord if they can send bedbug-proof mattress and pillow covers for your protection until extermination is complete, and bedbug spray for sofas and window treatments. Vacuum floors, and seal and throw away the vacuum’s dust bag when complete. Do not reuse the vacuum bag. After vacuuming, floors should be cleaned with bleach.
An exterminator can also provide you with extra information about what preventative steps you can take in relation to your specific situation.
What should my landlord do?
It is New York Habitat policy to only list apartments that are maintained to a minimum standard of quality and cleanliness. Landlords are also expected to be responsive and take care of pest control issues as soon as possible. It is the mission of our Quality Assurance department to respond to tenant complaints and inform landlords of best practices, and we are happy to act as a liaison on the request of a tenant if any issue arises. Therefore, we contact and encourage landlords to act quickly in providing pest control services in the event of an infestation.
According to New York law, landlords must keep a dwelling free of rodents or vermin. Tenants also have a right to a bedbug-free environment, and landlords have a 30-day period to get rid of bedbugs after a complaint from a tenant. While your agent and New York Habitat can’t provide legal services for you, if an owner fails to follow up on your request for extermination, you can contact us and we will try to get in touch with the owner. You can also always call New York City’s 311 Citizen’s Service Center line to file an official complaint with the city.
New York Habitat renting tips for keeping your apartment pest-free
Of course, almost everyone would prefer to avoid the problem of mice, roaches, or bedbugs altogether! While there’s never any guarantee that anti-pest measures will be 100% effective, there are preventative steps you can take to stop roaches, mice and bedbugs from entering your apartment:
Avoid inviting pests into your apartment in the first place by following these easy prevention tips!
While New York Habitat cannot guarantee that our apartments will always be pest-free, we take all necessary steps to ensure that rentals are free of rodents and insects and ready for tenancy. When an apartment receives a pest complaint, we ask for a receipt from owners to ensure that they have taken steps to exterminate the problem before it can be rented again. If an apartment has repeated pest complaints, it will not be rented to a client until agents receive proof that the problem has been solved and pests eradicated.
In a city as large and unpredictable as New York, it’s helpful to have someone in your corner. At New York Habitat, we aim to simplify the rental experience by providing assistance in tenant-landlord relationships, being there as a resource if you encounter any issues with your rental, and working behind the scenes as a rental agency to ensure the apartments in our database are up to standard. Interested to learn more? Browse all of our New York apartments online, or send us a request to get in touch with a licensed agent!
I agree that it’s very gross and frustrating when you discover that your Apartman has bed bugs, mice and other pests. Thanks for providing ways on how to keep an apartment clean from any of these pets. My boyfriend is moving to Vegas for work, and I’m moving to new yore. We are looking for apartments in both states that are pest free and fully furnished. I hope we find our apartment preferences soon.
Hi Bree,
Thanks for your comment, and good luck with the move! If you are moving to New York City, feel free to get in touch with us about one of our fully-furnished sublets; all are visited by New York Habitat listing agents and approved for living standards before being posted. https://www.nyhabitat.com/new-york-apartment/furnished
This is some really good information about apartment rentals that don’t’ have bugs. It is good to know that you should avoid apartments near a restaurant. It might be smart to get a professional to help you find a place.
I was on the phone with a friend of mine the other day about pest control. Making sure that my friend is keeping a clean outdoor area is a great idea. This will make it a lot easier to keep pests away in general.
I like what you said about avoiding used furniture. Getting rid of pests ought to be done with the help of a pest control company. I’ll call such a service if I ever notice bugs in my home.
Now I got, what I was looking for. Thank you so much for sharing your worthy tips.
Thanks for these pest control tips for an apartment. My brother’s apartment has an ant problem. I’ll tell him to contact a pest control company so he can have a clean apartment free of ants.
Thanks for sharing this information regarding pest control. I really found this very interesting. And you blog also helps to control pest and all above tips are also very helpful to control pest.
Thanks for your tip to avoid leaving unsealed food out in your kitchen so that pests aren’t attracted into your home. My roommate has a habit of making refried beans on the stove and just leaving it out all day and night so she can reheat it and eat it later. This is probably why we are getting a lot of ants and other pests around our apartment. I’ll see if I can get her to stop her weird habit before we call a pest control service, but I think the ants have made their home here and we’ll need a professional’s help.
Well written! Whether it’s a rodent, roach, or bedbug infestation, First, it’s important to know all the facts about a pest problem. You have discussed all these facts clearly. Thanks for your tips.
Thanks for the tip to talk with your landlord before doing anything else after seeing a rodent. However, if they take too long to answer, I’m hiring an exterminator. I shouldn’t have to live with pests because they won’t answer the phone.
I appreciated it when you shared that it is important to wash your clothes and bedsheets at the highest temperature if you have suspected to have bedbugs. My friend just mentioned the other day that he is worried about his house as it may have infested with bedbugs as he keeps on feeling itchy when he’s sleeping. I will suggest to him looking for a reliable service that can help get rid of the animal.
My apartment has a lot of bugs, and that is why I’m thinking of hiring a pest control service that may get rid of those. Thank you for sharing here as well the importance of regular cleaning. I also agree with you that it would be smarter to keep away the trash so there will be no infestation.