The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) houses 400,000 of the city's 8.4 million residents. This large public agency operates 173,762 apartments across 2,351 buildings in 316 developments. For perspective the cities of Tulsa, Tampa, Cleveland, and New Orleans each have around 400,000 total residents. NYCHA is under the scrutiny of the federal government for the
Bell Environmental recently wrote about how mice found in NYC apartment buildings carry disease-causing bacteria, including a few superbug germs. This is a subject worth revisiting and repeating because the study is alarming and because of the close contact humans have with mice. According to the Columbia University scientists who were quoted in a very good
"They Came From The Basement." That's not just a good title for a horror movie - it's also an accurate description of how mice start in NYC apartment and office buildings. While people are already squeamish about rats and mice in NY, there's a new scientific study that makes the story of mice in a
Following up on our recent post, we’re shouting a warning that we’ve given in the past: Bed Bug victims should call professionals instead of self-treating problems- and they should stay away from heat treatments of any kind! Simulating fire-like conditions and using heat to eliminate bed bugs can lead to fires! We’ve read about bed
Bed Bug treatments need to be safe, thorough, and effective. One method of treating bed bugs, thermal or radiant heat, fails on at least one of these essential metrics. Bed bug victims should avoid this dangerous approach to resolving bed bugs. Why do we say this now, and again and again? Because late last week we
Geese and other birds have been a frequent problem for airlines, especially during 2012. When birds collide with airplanes they can shatter windshields, dent fuselages and ruin engines and even place passengers’ and airline employees’ lives at risk. The most recent and high profile bird strike occurred two weeks ago: on July 31 a collision above
A Columbia University study of New York City rats discovered a large number of pathogens in these feared rodents. Some cause food-borne illnesses. Others were never found in New York before. The rats had at least 18 unknown viruses. “Given the close quarters shared by rats and New Yorkers, this is a recipe for a
We recently came across an article titled ”Pigeon-painting machine turns the rats of the sky into colorful works of art.” Artists Julian Charriere and Julius Von Bismarck decided to give pigeons a makeover with the intention of rehabilitating the images of these vermin birds. Their machine that draps pigeons and dyes them a wide variety of
Last week an opossum caused a frenzy when he left his home in New York City’s Bryant Park possum and entered a subway station. Maybe he was on his way to Coney Island before summer ends? Or couldn’t find a cab during rushhour? Or going to the Bronx for a Yankees game? This opossum sighting
The Yamato cockroach (Periplaneta japonica), a species indigenous to Japan, China and southeast Russia, is an insect that lives outdoors and survives in cool-temperate regions. When this Japanese roach was revealed to be living and thriving in an outdoor public garden in New York City in the first documented report of this cockroach species establishing