Top-Rated NYC Exterminators (Bed Bugs, Roaches & Rodents)

Under the NYC Housing Maintenance Code, landlords are legally obligated to eradicate pest infestations in rental apartments — this includes roaches, mice, rats, and bed bugs. Landlords typically contract a monthly pest control service that visits the building on a set schedule. However, these building-contracted exterminators often do little more than spray baseboards and leave bait traps. When that fails to solve the problem, many tenants hire a private licensed exterminator out of pocket and then pursue reimbursement from the landlord (or deduct from rent with proper legal process). If your landlord refuses to address a documented infestation, you can file an HPD complaint, which triggers an inspection and can result in violations and fines against the building.

Exclusion work is the process of finding and physically sealing every entry point that pests use to get into your apartment — and in NYC’s pre-war buildings, there are dozens. Common entry points include gaps around radiator pipes where they pass through walls, openings under sink cabinets where plumbing enters, spaces around electrical outlet boxes on shared walls, cracks along baseboards, and gaps under the apartment’s front door. A proper exclusion job involves stuffing these gaps with steel wool (which mice cannot chew through), sealing with caulk or expanding foam, and installing door sweeps. Without exclusion, spraying chemicals only kills the pests currently inside — new ones walk right back in from the hallway, neighboring units, or the building’s basement within days.

Potentially, but there is a specific legal process you must follow. Under New York’s Warranty of Habitability, a landlord is required to maintain the apartment in a livable condition, and a persistent pest infestation that the landlord fails to resolve can constitute a breach of that warranty. To build a legal case: first, notify your landlord in writing (email is fine) describing the infestation in detail. Give the landlord a reasonable period to cure — typically 30 days. Document everything with photos, inspection reports from a licensed exterminator, and copies of all communication. If the landlord fails to cure after written notice and a reasonable cure period, you may have grounds to break the lease without penalty. Consult a tenant rights attorney — many offer free consultations — before taking action.

Roach treatments are relatively straightforward: a licensed exterminator applies gel bait, boric acid, and targeted sprays to harborage areas, and the problem is usually resolved within 1–2 visits combined with exclusion work. Bed bugs are an entirely different challenge. Effective bed bug treatment requires intensive tenant prep work (laundering all clothing and linens on high heat, emptying closets and drawers, encasing mattresses), followed by either chemical treatment across multiple visits spaced 2–3 weeks apart, or a single-visit whole-room heat treatment where the apartment is brought to 130°F+ for several hours to kill all life stages. DIY foggers and bug bombs are actively counterproductive for bed bugs — they scatter the bugs deeper into walls and furniture, spreading the infestation to other rooms and neighboring units. Always hire a licensed professional for bed bugs.

Keep all food in sealed containers, never leave dishes in the sink overnight, seal gaps around pipes with steel wool and caulk, fix any leaky faucets (roaches need water), and take trash out daily. These steps reduce the attractants but exclusion work is needed to physically block entry points.

Confirm identification (look for small reddish-brown bugs in mattress seams, or tiny dark spots on sheets), notify your landlord in writing immediately, and do not move furniture to other rooms or sleep in another room — this spreads the infestation. Request a professional inspection as soon as possible.