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As the summer approaches, so does the increase of various pest infestations in NYC apartments. Since we've received a couple of questions about what to do, now is as good a time as any to share some information about how to combat the little vermin that live under your dishwasher.
Gothamist had mice last summer, and can say from experience that having cats is a good thing. The presence of a cat alone is sometimes enough to scare the little creatures away. The drawback, though, is that sometimes city cats are lethargic and won't chase mice at all, or that the cat will chase mice, catch them, and leave them as gifts for you in front of your bedroom door.
If getting a cat isn't an option, you can try some other alternatives. In our experience, most insect traps work reasonably well, if you have a problem like ants or roaches. Humane traps can work to get rid of bigger pests like mice or rats. (Or other traps, too, but that means you'd have to, like, handle the dead mice yourself.)
If do-it-yourself solutions to your pest problem fail, the city does have an agency for handling these things. If you visit the Department of Health Pest Control page, there is a form to fill out to report any outbreaks. They also have a brochure for helping keep rats away (pdf). And, as always, if you need more information, you can reach Pest Control by dialing 311.
If others of you have had experience with pests, we'd love to hear some of your advice, too.
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we had a mouse in our apartment last fall. It was horrible. I can kill bugs of any size but mammals that don't pay rent are a different story. The best advice we got (apart from the obvious keep your place clean/set traps) was to stuff steel wool into any holes/ cracks/gaps in the walls, baseboards, gap between dishwasher and cupboards, etc. It keeps the mouse from getting into your place from the walls or wherever he lives, and he can't chew through it. We're in an old brownstone with lots of nooks and crannies so this probably doesn't apply if you live in a reasonably new/nice place...
i had a few mouse incidents last winter (prewar apartment in the east village, so lots of nooks and crannies and old cracks in the walls). the only way to deal is to keep problem areas very clean and set out traps right away. they seem to particularly like carbs (no joke), so any paper/cardboard boxes of food like cereal, pasta, sugar, flour, CRUMBS, etc., should be cleaned, replaced in something airtight, or refrigerated.
put traps wherever there are droppings and try to get rid of whatever was there before -- usually the mouse will return to the scene of the crime and hit the trap instead. once the mouse is gone, clean everywhere it was like a maniac. because i'm so petrified of them, even after it's gone i've left traps lying around, just as a precaution.
I had an infestation back when the reservoir was drained some years ago. They enter through the gaps left where drain or heating pipes run into the walls. Steel wool alone isn't really enough, as they may be sufficiently determined to explore your hospitality to push or drag it out. The best thing I've ever found is simple spray insulation foam, which expands to fill gaps and hardens into a substance mice are reportedly reluctant to chew. Cheap and easy to apply.
Senior year at Columbia, my campus apartment was had a mouse family. I hated it, but since I was too chickent to do anything about it, they ruled the roost.
when i had mice, fresh cab seemed to work to get rid of 'em humanely, along w/the steel wool tip posted earlier.