Active Germans

Here are some 5th Avenue German cockroaches.  None of these are fully mature yet, but are most likely in 3rd and 4th stages of development.  They are caught on a monitor.  Beneath a few of them you can see some roach dander, which is the excrement of the roaches.  The first stage roaches are not much bigger than the dander.  They have a nice shine to them.

Water Bug Burial Ground

When I popped the lid off of this floor panel in the basement of a building on the UES, I came across this secret water bug burial ground.  It was a couple inches deep of nothing but the carcasses of American Cockroaches, i.e. the Water Bug.  Interesting to note is the fact that they are not all belly up like we usually find them.  In addition to this burial ground, there were dozens and dozens of live water bugs all throughout the basement.  Most buildings in NYC have water bugs, and most NYers never complain so long as they stay in the basement.

Why Are They Called Carpet Beetles

I am not sure of all the reasons why they are called carpet beetles, but this photo gives us a hint.

This is not a photo of a lunar landscape.  This is the carpet inside of someone's closet on the UES.  The carpet beetles went unnoticed for quite sometime, and by the time we finally dug in and pulled out the shoe boxes this is what we found.  And this is just one photo of dozens where the beetles, specifically the beetle larvae, had eaten completely through the carpet down to the padding underneath and in some cases even to the floor.  Apparently the larvae can exist in their state from 1-3 years, and that is plenty of time for them to cause serious damage such as what you see above.

Welcome To Ew York City

Ew York City is a blog dedicated to showcasing some of the gross things we come across in our travels through the five boroughs as pest management professionals.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent, but the pests, vermin, and pest conducive conditions are represented accurately in all their glory.  We hope this blog will educate our readers on the seriousness of pests and the conditions that are conducive to their presence.

The first entry is from our accounts manager Nick.  The tenants in this apartment had a little surprise waiting for them when they got up to use the bathroom that morning.  A young Norway rat had made its way into the plumbing and ended up drowning and floating up the toilet.  Prior to this discovery the tenants had been keeping a stack of books on the toilet lid to keep the rats from getting into the apartment.  Norway rats are able to travel great distances through some of the tightest conduits in NYC.  Make sure you look before you sit down.