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You stop finding droppings behind the stove. You stop hearing things move in the walls at night. You stop buying traps that work for a week and then don’t. That’s what real pest control looks like not a spray visit that pushes the problem somewhere else, but a treatment that actually addresses where the pests are coming from and why they keep coming back.
In Sunset Park, that “why” matters more than in most neighborhoods. The rodent pressure on blocks west of 5th Avenue isn’t random it migrates from the waterfront industrial zone, including the Brooklyn Army Terminal and the Brooklyn Wholesale Meat Market, and it doesn’t stop because you set a few snap traps. The cockroach pressure on side streets off 8th Avenue and the Latin American corridor on 5th isn’t isolated to one apartment it travels through shared wall voids and utility chases from commercial kitchens into the row houses next door.
Once we address the source and seal the entry points, the difference is immediate and lasting. No more recurring infestations. No more wondering if the problem is in your neighbor’s unit. No more putting it off because you’re not sure who to call. You get your home back, and you don’t have to think about it again.
We founded Kingsway Exterminating Company in 1971 the same decade the Brooklyn Army Terminal shut down and Sunset Park’s waterfront economy began its long transformation. We’ve been treating Sunset Park homes and businesses through every chapter of this neighborhood’s history, and that experience shows up in how we work.
We’re a family-owned company, not a franchise, not a national chain. When you call us, you’re reaching people who have a direct stake in getting it right. Our technicians are NYSDEC-licensed, our bed bug specialists are certified, and our approach follows Integrated Pest Management principles meaning we use the least invasive, most targeted treatment that actually solves the problem.
Sunset Park’s housing stock is almost entirely attached row houses and multi-family buildings structures where a pest problem in one unit has a direct path to every other unit through shared walls and basement connections. We understand that because we’ve been working in these buildings for decades. We inspect for it, treat for it, and follow up on it. That’s not something you get from a company that showed up in your search results last year.
It starts with a free inspection. A licensed technician comes to your home, walks the space, and actually looks behind appliances, along baseboards, in the basement, around utility penetrations. In Sunset Park’s attached row houses, that inspection includes an assessment of the shared wall pathways and entry points that connect your unit to the rest of the building. We’re not guessing at what you have or where it’s coming from. We’re finding out.
From there, we give you a clear picture of what’s going on and what it takes to fix it. No pressure, no upsell, no vague estimate. If it’s a German cockroach infestation traveling from a restaurant on 8th Avenue through a utility chase into your kitchen, we tell you that. If it’s a rodent entry point in the foundation that connects to the building next door, we show you where it is. You make an informed decision, and we get to work.
Treatment is targeted and EPA-registered applied where pests actually are, not broadcast across every surface. After treatment, we follow up. Sunset Park’s pest pressure is ongoing, especially near the waterfront and the commercial corridors, and we account for that. If something comes back within the service window, so do we. That’s the whole process, and there’s nothing complicated about it.
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We handle the full range of pests that show up in Sunset Park homes and commercial properties. Cockroaches particularly German cockroaches, the species that dominates restaurant-adjacent residential buildings are one of the most common calls we get from residents on the side streets off 5th and 8th Avenues. Rodents are the other. Mice and rats migrating from the waterfront industrial zone and the active construction around Industry City and the MADE Bush Terminal are a recurring reality for homeowners and renters on Sunset Park West blocks, and they require exclusion work, not just trapping.
We also handle bed bugs, and this is an area where certification matters. Our bed bug specialists are trained in both heat treatment and chemical treatment protocols because the right approach depends on the specific infestation, not a one-size-fits-all method. Beyond that, we treat for ants, termites, stinging insects, fleas, and wildlife, and we provide WDI inspections and mortgage clearance certificates for Sunset Park home buyers and sellers navigating Brooklyn’s active real estate market.
For commercial properties restaurants on 5th or 8th Avenue, food distributors near the waterfront, multi-tenant buildings we provide documented IPM-based programs that meet NYC Department of Health inspection requirements. Every service comes with a free initial inspection, NYSDEC-licensed application, and real follow-up. Sunset Park residents deserve pest control that’s actually accountable, and that’s what we deliver.
The most common reason is that the source of the problem is outside your apartment and often outside your building entirely. Sunset Park’s western blocks sit adjacent to one of the most active industrial waterfronts in Brooklyn: the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the Brooklyn Wholesale Meat Market, and the ongoing construction activity around Industry City and the MADE Bush Terminal. These facilities generate sustained rodent populations that migrate outward into residential blocks, particularly those between 3rd and 5th Avenues. Snap traps and store-bought bait stations address the mice already inside your unit they do nothing about the ones still coming in from outside.
What actually stops the cycle is exclusion work: identifying and sealing the entry points foundation gaps, utility penetrations, gaps around pipes that allow rodents to access your building in the first place. In Sunset Park’s attached row houses, those entry points are often in shared basement walls or crawl spaces that connect multiple units. A licensed inspection will find them. Traps alone won’t.
The honest answer is that you probably can’t tell on your own and it matters, because the treatment approach is different depending on the source. German cockroaches, which are the dominant species in Brooklyn’s restaurant-adjacent residential buildings, travel through shared wall voids, utility chases, and plumbing penetrations. If you live on a side street off 8th Avenue or 5th Avenue in Sunset Park, there’s a real possibility that the infestation is originating in a commercial kitchen and traveling through structural pathways into your unit.
A thorough inspection will look at where the cockroaches are concentrated, what access points exist between your unit and adjacent spaces, and whether the infestation pattern suggests an internal source or an external one. That assessment changes everything treating a self-contained infestation is different from treating one that has an active external source. If the source isn’t addressed, the infestation comes back. That’s why so many DIY treatments and one-time spray visits fail in Sunset Park specifically.
Under New York City’s Housing Maintenance Code, landlords are legally required to keep buildings free of pests. Cockroach infestations are classified as Class C violations the most serious category which means a landlord must respond within 24 hours of a complaint being filed. If your landlord isn’t responding, you can file a complaint through 311, and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development can issue violations and fines. Landlords are also prohibited from retaliating against tenants who report pest conditions.
That said, the legal process takes time, and a pest problem in a shared-wall Sunset Park building doesn’t wait. If you’re a renter who needs the problem addressed now not after a 311 complaint works its way through the system you can hire a licensed pest control professional directly. We provide free inspections, so you can get a clear picture of what you’re dealing with before spending anything. It’s also worth knowing that some pesticide products sold in informal markets in the neighborhood are illegal under NYC and state law only EPA-registered products applied by a NYSDEC-licensed applicator are legally compliant.
Early fall September through November is consistently the highest-urgency season for rodent activity in Sunset Park. As temperatures drop, mice and rats that have been living in the waterfront industrial zone, the restaurant corridors, and the outdoor spaces around the park begin seeking indoor warmth. Ground-floor units and basement apartments in the neighborhood’s row houses are the primary targets, and the transition happens fast. One week you haven’t seen a mouse; two weeks later you’re finding evidence in three rooms.
The most effective preparation is an inspection before the season shifts ideally in August or early September. A licensed technician can identify the entry points in your building’s foundation, around utility penetrations, and in the basement before rodents are actively looking for them. Sealing those points proactively is far less disruptive than dealing with an active infestation in October. If you’re near the waterfront or on a block adjacent to the 5th or 8th Avenue commercial corridors, that early-season inspection is especially worth doing.
Bed bug treatment starts with a thorough inspection to confirm the infestation, map where the bugs are concentrated, and determine the severity. From there, the treatment method heat, chemical, or a combination is chosen based on what the specific situation calls for. Heat treatment involves raising the temperature in the affected space to a level that kills bed bugs at all life stages, including eggs. Chemical treatment uses EPA-registered products applied to harborage areas, seams, and surfaces where bed bugs live and travel. Both are effective when applied correctly by a certified specialist.
Preparation requirements vary by method, but in general, you’ll need to launder and bag clothing and bedding, clear clutter from around the bed and furniture, and follow specific instructions your technician provides before the appointment. After treatment, there’s typically a re-entry window usually a few hours for chemical treatments. In Sunset Park’s multi-family buildings, it’s worth asking about adjacent units, because bed bugs in a shared-wall building can travel between units through wall voids. A single-unit treatment that doesn’t account for that risk is more likely to result in a reinfestation.
Yes. We provide Wood-Destroying Insect inspections commonly called WDI inspections and mortgage clearance certificates for home buyers, sellers, and real estate attorneys in Sunset Park and throughout Brooklyn. If you’re purchasing a home with FHA or VA financing, a WDI inspection report is typically required before the loan can close. Sellers often need clearance documentation as well, particularly for the neighborhood’s older row houses, many of which were built between 1895 and 1930 and have original wood structural elements that can be vulnerable to termite activity.
Only a NYSDEC-licensed pest control professional can issue a valid WDI report in New York State this is not something a home inspector can provide. Sunset Park’s real estate market has been active, with ongoing resale of century-old attached homes alongside new construction, and inspection timelines can be tight when a closing date is set. If you’re working toward a transaction and need a licensed inspection on a specific schedule, call us directly and we’ll work around your timeline.
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