Hear from Our Customers
When bed bugs are in your home, you stop sleeping the way you used to. You check the mattress before you get in. You wake up scanning your arms. That kind of anxiety doesn’t go away on its own and it doesn’t go away with a spray from the hardware store either.
Professional bed bug treatment in Harlem means the infestation gets addressed at the source, not just the surface. In a pre-war brownstone or older multi-unit building the kind that lines the blocks between 110th and 155th Street bed bugs don’t just live in your mattress. They move into wall voids, baseboards, plaster cracks, and the spaces behind electrical outlets that have been accumulating gaps for a hundred years. Our thorough treatment reaches those harborage points. A can of spray doesn’t.
What changes after proper treatment is simple: you get your home back. No more waking up at 3am with a flashlight. No more bagging every piece of clothing you own. No more wondering if the problem spread to the unit next door. In Harlem’s dense apartment buildings where a neighbor’s infestation can become yours within weeks getting ahead of the problem quickly is the only approach that actually works.
Kingsway Exterminating Company is a family-owned business that has been treating pest infestations across all five boroughs of New York City for over 40 years. We are fully licensed under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, bonded, insured, and certified specifically as bedbug specialists not just general exterminators who occasionally handle bed bugs on the side.
That distinction matters in a neighborhood like Harlem. The housing stock here the Hamilton Heights rowhouses, the Sugar Hill brownstones, the older multi-unit buildings near 125th Street presents challenges that require real experience with pre-war construction. We’ve been treating buildings exactly like these throughout Manhattan for decades. Our team carries over 100 years of combined pest control experience, and our BBB A+ accreditation has been maintained since 1989.
When you call, a real person answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you’ll have an appointment within two business days, with same-day inspections frequently available.
It starts with a call. When you reach out to us, you’ll speak with someone who can answer your questions right then not a voicemail, not a form submission that gets reviewed tomorrow. If you need a same-day inspection, ask. It’s frequently available.
The inspection comes first. A certified specialist comes to your home and conducts a thorough assessment not just the mattress and box spring, but the baseboards, the furniture joints, the wall voids, and the areas behind outlets and switch plates. In Harlem’s older apartment buildings, those are exactly the spots where infestations establish themselves beyond the bedroom. You’ll get a clear picture of what you’re dealing with before any treatment begins.
From there, we walk you through the treatment plan and what to expect. Most bed bug infestations require two to four treatments over a three-to-six week period that’s standard, not an upsell. If you’re in a multi-unit building and there’s reason to believe neighboring units are involved, we address that too. Under NYC’s Local Law 69, landlords in buildings with three or more units have annual bedbug reporting obligations with HPD if you’re a property owner navigating that process, we can help with the documentation side as well. After treatment, you’ll receive clear re-entry instructions and guidance on follow-up steps to make sure the infestation doesn’t come back.
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Bed bug treatment in Harlem isn’t one-size-fits-all. A studio apartment in a newer building off Broadway and a fourth-floor unit in a pre-war limestone on Convent Avenue are two completely different treatment environments. Our approach accounts for that.
For most residential cases, treatment involves targeted application to all confirmed and likely harborage areas not just the bed frame. That includes baseboards, furniture seams, wall voids, closets, and the structural gaps that are common in buildings constructed before World War II. We use environmentally friendly solutions throughout, and we provide specific preparation instructions before the visit so the treatment is as effective as possible from the start. If heat treatment is the right approach for your situation, that option is available as well.
For landlords and property managers in Harlem whether you’re overseeing a brownstone on Strivers Row, a multi-unit building near the Manhattanville waterfront, or a larger residential property we handle the compliance documentation that NYC requires. That includes DOH clearance certificates and support for HPD health code violations. Every job comes with a free estimate upfront, so you know exactly what the plan involves and what it costs before any work begins. No hidden charges, no pressure to add services you don’t need.
Yes and in Harlem’s older multi-unit buildings, it happens more easily than most people realize. Bed bugs can travel through wall voids, along plumbing chases, under door gaps, and through shared electrical conduits. In a pre-war brownstone or apartment building where the infrastructure is 80 to 100 years old, those pathways are often extensive. A single infested unit can become a building-wide problem within weeks if it’s not addressed.
This is one of the reasons speed matters so much when you discover bed bugs in a Harlem apartment. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that neighboring units become involved and the more complex and costly the treatment becomes. If you’re a tenant, notifying your landlord promptly is important. If you’re a landlord, NYC’s Housing Maintenance Code requires you to address the infestation. We have experience coordinating treatment across multiple units in the same building and can advise on the right approach based on your specific situation.
The honest answer is that it depends on the size of the infestation, the size of the unit, and how many rooms or areas are involved. For a standard residential case in Harlem, professional bed bug treatment typically ranges from $1,000 to $2,500. More severe infestations particularly in larger apartments or multi-room situations common in Harlem’s older pre-war units can reach $4,000 or more.
What affects the cost most is how far the infestation has spread. A bed bug problem caught early, confined to one room, costs significantly less to treat than one that has moved into wall voids, multiple rooms, or neighboring units. That’s one of the strongest arguments for calling sooner rather than later. We offer free estimates, so you’ll know exactly what you’re looking at before any work begins no obligation, no pressure. The estimate is based on what’s actually there, not on what generates the highest invoice.
Under New York City’s Housing Maintenance Code, landlords are legally required to keep rental units free of pests, including bed bugs. In rent-stabilized buildings which make up a significant portion of Harlem’s housing stock this obligation is especially enforceable. If you report a bed bug infestation to your landlord and they fail to act, you can file a complaint through 311, which triggers an HPD inspection. If live bed bugs are found, the landlord is required to hire a licensed exterminator and remediate the problem.
That said, waiting on your landlord to act isn’t always the fastest path forward. If the infestation is spreading or you’re not getting a timely response, you have the right to hire your own exterminator and potentially seek reimbursement. We can treat your unit regardless of whether you’re a tenant acting independently or a landlord managing the building-wide response. If you’re unsure about your rights or next steps, calling for a free inspection is a reasonable first move it gives you information before you decide anything.
Under NYC Local Law 69 of 2017, every owner of a residential building with three or more units is required to file an annual Bedbug Report with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The reporting window runs from December 1 through December 31 each year, covering the period from November 1 through October 31. The report requires landlords to document whether any units had a bed bug infestation during that period, what treatment was provided, and whether the infestation was resolved.
Failure to file results in a Class A HPD violation. For Harlem property owners managing brownstones, row houses, or larger multi-unit buildings, this is a compliance obligation that comes around every year whether or not there was an active infestation. We can provide the treatment documentation and DOH clearance certificates that support your filing. If you’re managing an HPD violation or trying to get ahead of the reporting deadline, reaching out early gives you more options and less pressure.
Most bed bug infestations require two to four professional treatments spaced over a three-to-six week period. This isn’t a company trying to extend a contract it’s how bed bug biology works. Eggs are resistant to most treatments, so a follow-up visit after the initial application is necessary to address newly hatched nymphs before they reach reproductive age. Skipping follow-up treatments is one of the most common reasons infestations come back.
In Harlem’s pre-war apartment buildings, where bed bugs have access to extensive wall voids, aged baseboards, and structural gaps, the number of treatments needed can depend on how deeply the infestation has established itself. A contained infestation caught early may resolve in two visits. A more advanced case or one in a building where neighboring units are also involved may require additional follow-up. We’ll give you a realistic treatment plan based on what the inspection actually finds, not a best-case scenario that sets you up for disappointment.
Yes, when applied correctly by a licensed specialist and when you follow the preparation and re-entry instructions provided beforehand. We use environmentally friendly treatment solutions and give every client clear guidance on what to do before the technician arrives and how long to stay out of treated areas afterward. Following those instructions is what makes the treatment both effective and safe for everyone in the household.
This is a legitimate concern in Harlem, where many apartments are smaller and ventilation in pre-war buildings can be limited. The preparation steps things like washing and bagging bedding, clearing clutter from baseboards, and keeping pets out of treated rooms during and immediately after application aren’t just procedural. They directly affect how well the treatment works and how quickly your home is safe to return to. If you have specific concerns about a child’s health condition, a particular pet, or the layout of your apartment, bring those up when you call. A licensed specialist can walk you through exactly what to expect for your specific situation before you commit to anything.
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