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Tell us what you are seeing
Four questions, answered by a person within one business day. If it is urgent, call: the line is answered at any hour.
Part of Landscape Pest Risk Mitigation, across New York City and Long Island.
What makes Brooklyn different?
The typical Brooklyn yard is long and narrow, behind a brownstone or rowhouse, backing onto a dozen other yards across the block interior. Rats do not respect property lines. They live and travel across that shared space, using whichever yards offer the best combination of soil, cover and food. A well-planned yard gives them none of it.
What we look at
- Decks. Built with clearance that leaves the space underneath visible and accessible, or closed at the perimeter with buried mesh.
- Sheds. Set on a slab or raised on a base that prevents burrowing underneath.
- Fences. No double fencing that creates a protected corridor; a single fence line wherever possible.
- Beds against the house. A clear strip at the foundation, with paving or gravel along the rear wall and the cellar windows.
- Ground covers. Open plantings rather than dense mats such as ivy, which rats use for cover.
- Food. Compost in closed, rodent-resistant bins on a hard base; bird feeders and fruit trees planned and managed.
- Refuse. A hard-surfaced, enclosed spot for lidded bins, away from beds and the cellar door.
Neighborhood pressure
Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Prospect Heights make up one of the city’s four Rat Mitigation Zones. Older neighborhoods throughout the borough share the same block-interior layout and the same risks.
Working with Graduate
Homeowners can read how a yard review works under landscape pest risk mitigation. For the house itself, see pre-construction pest risk mitigation in Brooklyn.
Common questions
Why do Brooklyn backyards get so many rats?
Rowhouse yards sit back to back across the middle of each block, separated only by fences. Rats live and travel across that whole block interior, and any yard that offers soil, cover and food becomes part of their territory.
Is a deck a problem?
A low deck built close to the ground creates sheltered space above soil, which is ideal for burrowing. Decks should either be built with enough clearance to see and access underneath, or have their perimeters closed with buried mesh.
What about wood fences and sheds?
Double fencing, where your fence runs beside a neighbor's, leaves protected harborage between them. Sheds set directly on soil invite burrows underneath. Both are design choices best made before construction.
Can we still have a vegetable garden?
Yes. Raised beds with buried hardware cloth at the base, kept away from the house wall, and a plan for fallen fruit and garden waste keep a productive garden from feeding the block's rats.
Which Brooklyn neighborhoods face the most pressure?
The city has designated Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Prospect Heights as a Rat Mitigation Zone. Yards there should be planned assuming steady pressure from the block.
How do we start?
Send the plan or photos of the yard. We review it, visit before construction and planting, and give you and your designer a short list of changes.
Landscape Pest Risk Mitigation in Brooklyn
Start with a free consultation
A consultation is a phone call with us about your problem. You tell us what you are seeing, where in the building, and how long it has been going on, and we tell you what it most likely is and what it will take to fix. There is no charge for the call.
Work like this starts with a paid on-site inspection. We go through the building, find how the problem is getting in and why it is staying, and give you a written plan and scope of work. The inspection fee is quoted before the visit and is credited toward the job if you go ahead.
Call (631) 212-9601Schedule an inspection
Answered at any hour.