The Ranking
Our top 8 pest control companies in New York
Pest control in New York City is mostly a fight against three things: rats, German cockroaches and bed bugs, with house mice moving indoors every fall. The city's older walk-ups and prewar buildings share walls, pipe chases and garbage areas, so a problem in one apartment often starts somewhere else in the building. That is why most good exterminators here talk about integrated pest management, or IPM: finding where pests get in and what they eat, sealing gaps around radiator pipes and under sinks, and using baits and traps before broad spraying. In houses in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx you will also see squirrels and raccoons in attics, carpenter ants, and eastern subterranean termites, which are found in New York and show up in older wood framing and basements.
Renters should know the landlord is usually responsible for pest control in the building, and many of the companies below also work for property managers. If you have children or pets, ask what products will be used, where they will go, and how long you need to stay out of treated rooms. Good technicians will explain this without being asked, and several reviewers in this list say exactly that.
In New York State, anyone who applies pesticides for hire must be certified by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and pest control businesses must be registered with the DEC. Before you book, ask for the company's DEC business registration number and the technician's certification, and get the treatment plan and price in writing. QualityPro, GreenPro and membership in the New York State Pest Management Association are voluntary, but they show a company has signed on to training and conduct standards.
We started from Google Maps results for pest control and exterminators across the five boroughs and checked every candidate's address against city property records. We left out mailbox and executive suite addresses, apartments and houses, lead-gen sites, listings with keyword-stuffed names, and companies under 4.5 stars or 50 reviews. Where a company has several Google listings, we kept one office only.
