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You stop waking up checking your arms. You stop avoiding your bedroom. You stop wondering if the unit next door is going to send them right back. That’s what a real bed bug removal looks like not just a spray and a handshake, but an infestation that’s been assessed, treated, and confirmed gone.
In Clinton Hill, that matters more than most places. The neighborhood’s pre-war brownstones most built between the 1870s and 1940s have original horsehair plaster, shared wall cavities, and radiator pipe gaps that give bed bugs an easy path between units. A surface-level treatment doesn’t account for that. Our certified specialists do.
When we clear your apartment, we’re not just solving your immediate problem. We’re cutting off the cycle before it spreads to your neighbors, your building, or the next tenant. That’s especially important in Clinton Hill, where the Pratt Institute community brings seasonal turnover students moving in every August and out every May, secondhand furniture changing hands on the sidewalk, buildings turning over fast. The introduction risk here is real and predictable. Our treatment approach accounts for it.
Kingsway Exterminating Company has been operating out of Brooklyn since before most of Clinton Hill’s brownstones were restored in the 1970s revival. We were founded by Richard Kourbage and remain family-owned and operated today with over 40 years in the field and more than 100 years of combined staff experience behind every job.
That experience isn’t just time. It’s knowing how bed bugs move through a shared-wall rowhouse on Washington Avenue versus a co-op unit in the Clinton Hill Cooperative. It’s knowing what works in pre-war construction and what doesn’t. It’s showing up with a plan that fits your building, not a generic checklist.
We hold an A+ rating with the BBB accredited since 1989 and we’re fully licensed by the NYSDEC, which is the legal requirement for bed bug treatment in any NYC rental property. No upselling. No exaggerated assessments. Just an honest look at what’s there and what it takes to fix it.
It starts with a phone call answered live, any time of day or night. You describe what you’re seeing, and from there, we schedule a same-day inspection when available. If not same-day, we guarantee an appointment within two days. In a dense brownstone building where bed bugs can move to an adjacent unit within days, that window matters.
During the inspection, one of our certified specialists assesses the full scope not just your mattress, but the wall voids, baseboards, furniture, and any structural gaps that are common in Clinton Hill’s older building stock. If your building falls under NYC’s Housing Maintenance Code requirements, we document the inspection in a way that supports your HPD compliance obligations. Landlords managing multi-unit properties on Clinton Avenue, DeKalb Avenue, or anywhere in the 11205 and 11238 ZIP codes will get a clear picture of what’s required, including whether adjacent units need to be assessed.
We apply treatment based on what’s actually found not a one-size package sold before anyone’s looked at your apartment. After treatment, you’ll receive clear post-treatment instructions, including when it’s safe to return to normal and what follow-up looks like if a second visit is warranted.
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Bed bug treatment in a Clinton Hill brownstone isn’t the same as treating a newer construction apartment. The building stock here attached rowhouses with shared walls, pre-war co-op units, loft conversions like the former factory buildings along Park Avenue creates conditions where bed bugs travel through plumbing chases, open wall voids, and original flooring gaps. Treatment has to account for that, not just hit the surface.
We use environmentally friendly solutions that are safe for families, children, and pets which matters in a neighborhood with as many young families and Pratt students living in close quarters as Clinton Hill has. Every treatment is applied by a NYSDEC-licensed specialist, which is not optional under New York State law for any rental property. If you’re a landlord, that licensure is what keeps you on the right side of HPD’s Annual Bed Bug Reporting requirement under Local Law 69 of 2017.
Whether it’s a single apartment on Myrtle Avenue or a multi-unit building near the Clinton Hill Cooperative, we determine the treatment scope based on what the inspection actually finds. No predetermined packages, no inflated assessments. You get a treatment plan built around your specific situation and if follow-up is needed, that’s part of the conversation from day one, not a surprise after the fact.
Yes and in Clinton Hill’s attached brownstones, it happens more easily than most people expect. The original construction in these buildings includes shared wall cavities, open spaces around radiator pipes, gaps in original plaster, and conduit runs that connect units horizontally and vertically. Bed bugs don’t need much space to move through, and they will follow heat and carbon dioxide from one unit to the next if conditions allow.
This is exactly why NYC’s Housing Maintenance Code requires that when a bed bug infestation is confirmed in one apartment, all adjacent units above, below, and side by side must be inspected as well. That’s not optional for landlords; it’s a legal obligation. If you’re a tenant in Clinton Hill who’s found bed bugs and your landlord hasn’t initiated that broader inspection, you can file a complaint through 311 and HPD will follow up. Getting treatment in your unit alone may not be enough if the source is next door.
Professional bed bug treatment in Brooklyn generally runs between $1,000 and $2,500 depending on the size of the unit, the severity of the infestation, and the treatment method used. Heat treatment tends to sit at the higher end of that range. Chemical treatment can come in lower, depending on the scope. Multi-unit treatments for landlords managing several apartments in one building are typically assessed on a per-unit basis.
For Clinton Hill residents, the more important number is what it costs to delay. A bed bug infestation in a pre-war building with shared walls doesn’t stay contained for long. If it spreads to adjacent units, a landlord is now looking at treating multiple apartments, potential HPD violations, and the reputational risk of a building with a documented infestation history which must be disclosed in the Annual Bed Bug Report filed with HPD every December. Getting it handled quickly and correctly the first time is almost always the less expensive path. We offer free estimates so you know exactly what you’re looking at before any commitment.
Yes. New York State law requires that any pest control professional treating a rental property for bed bugs hold a valid license issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation the NYSDEC. This isn’t a suggestion or a best practice; it’s a legal requirement. Hiring an unlicensed operator doesn’t just risk an ineffective treatment it can expose a landlord to violations and leave the infestation legally unresolved in HPD’s records.
For tenants in Clinton Hill, this matters because it affects your rights. If your landlord hires someone without proper NYSDEC licensure, any treatment performed may not satisfy HPD’s requirements, and you may still have legal standing to pursue a violation. For landlords, using a licensed, bonded, and insured company like Kingsway means the treatment is documented and defensible if HPD follows up. It also means the Annual Bed Bug Report you’re required to file under Local Law 69 of 2017 reflects a compliant remediation not a gap that triggers further scrutiny.
Call first don’t start moving things around. The instinct is to strip the bed, bag everything, and start washing, but moving infested items through your apartment or into shared hallways can spread bed bugs to other units in your building. In a Clinton Hill brownstone or co-op, that shared hallway connects directly to your neighbors’ front doors.
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you call tonight, a real person picks up. You’ll describe what you’re seeing, and from there, we schedule an inspection as soon as the next day. In the meantime, avoid moving furniture out of the room where you found the bugs, don’t apply any over-the-counter sprays (these often scatter bed bugs deeper into wall voids rather than eliminating them), and document what you’ve found with photos. If you’re a renter, notify your landlord in writing this creates a paper trail that protects you if the situation escalates to an HPD complaint.
Bed bugs are active year-round in Clinton Hill because the neighborhood’s steam-heated pre-war buildings maintain temperatures that are ideal for breeding regardless of the season outside. There’s no winter slowdown the way you might see in a less densely heated environment. That said, there are two windows each year when the introduction risk spikes noticeably in Clinton Hill specifically.
The first is late August and early September, when Pratt Institute students move into off-campus housing throughout Clinton Hill. Secondhand mattresses, upholstered furniture from storage, and belongings transported from other cities or dormitories are all common introduction vectors. The second window is May and June, when students move out furniture gets left on sidewalks, apartments turn over quickly, and items get passed between residents. If you’re a Clinton Hill landlord, these are the two periods when a proactive inspection before a new tenant moves in is worth every dollar. If you’re a resident, it’s worth being cautious about picking up curbside furniture during these months, regardless of how good it looks.
Under NYC Local Law 69 of 2017, all owners of multiple dwellings in New York City including the brownstones, rowhouses, and co-op buildings that make up most of Clinton Hill’s residential stock are required to file an Annual Bed Bug Report with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development every year. The filing covers the period from November 1 through October 31 and must be submitted by December 31. It discloses whether any units in the building had a bed bug infestation during that period and what remediation steps were taken.
Failure to file can result in an HPD violation. More importantly, if a tenant reports bed bugs and HPD inspects and finds an active infestation, the landlord faces a Notice of Violation that becomes part of the building’s public record. That record is visible to prospective tenants and affects the building’s reputation in a rental market where Clinton Hill’s median rent has reached approximately $3,800 per month meaning tenants at that price point will absolutely check HPD’s database before signing a lease. Documenting a prompt, licensed remediation through a NYSDEC-certified company like Kingsway is the most straightforward way to protect both your compliance standing and your building’s rental value.
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