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You stop second-guessing every sound in the kitchen at night. You stop finding droppings behind the stove, stop worrying about what your kids or pets are crawling around near, and stop wondering if that store-bought spray is ever going to do anything. That’s the real outcome not just fewer bugs, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing the problem was handled correctly.
For homes in Gerritsen Beach specifically, that matters more than it might somewhere else. The neighborhood sits along Plumb Beach Channel and Shell Bank Creek, and the American cockroach what most people here call a waterbug migrates up through drain lines and sewer connections, especially after heavy rain. It’s a geography-driven problem, not a cleanliness problem. Getting rid of it means understanding where it’s coming from, not just spraying where you see it.
The city’s $28.9 million infrastructure overhaul completed in 2023 also displaced a lot of below-grade pest activity. Years of trenching, pipe replacement, and disrupted soil pushed cockroaches into the nearest warm structure which in many cases was a home on Devon Avenue, Channel Avenue, or Seba Avenue. If your problem got worse during or after that construction, there’s a reason. And there’s a fix.
Kingsway Exterminating Company was founded by Richard Kourbage Sr. and has been a family-run operation ever since Richard Kourbage Jr. joined in 1987, and we’ve never changed hands, never been franchised, and never moved far from the neighborhoods we serve. Our office is at 2216 Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park, which is the neighborhood that connects directly to Gerritsen Beach via Gerritsen Avenue. That’s not a coincidence it’s proximity that actually means something when you need someone there fast.
We hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau of New York State, and every technician carries a Commercial Pesticide Applicator or Technician Certification from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. We’re fully licensed, bonded, and insured, and only apply DEC-registered materials in your home. Our staff collectively brings over 100 years of hands-on pest control experience not a number pulled from a brochure, but a real reflection of how long these people have been doing this work in Brooklyn.
It starts with an inspection. Before any treatment goes down, a Kingsway technician walks the property to identify what species you’re dealing with, where they’re entering, where they’re harbouring, and what’s driving the infestation. In Gerritsen Beach, that inspection almost always includes a look at below-grade entry points floor drains, pipe penetrations, basement walls because waterbugs coming up through the sewer system is one of the most common complaints in this neighborhood. Knowing that upfront changes the entire treatment approach.
From there, we apply treatment using NYS DEC-registered materials targeted to the specific species and entry points identified during the inspection. German cockroaches in a kitchen require a different protocol than American cockroaches migrating up from a drain line. Applying the right treatment in the right places is what separates a fix from a temporary reduction. Your family and pets are not an afterthought in this step the materials we use are certified for residential use, and the technician will walk you through what to expect before, during, and after.
One visit is rarely the end of it, and we’ll be straightforward about that. Cockroach eggs are resistant to most pesticides, so follow-up treatment is necessary to catch newly hatched nymphs before they reach reproductive maturity. We offer ongoing maintenance schedule options weekly, monthly, or every other month so that recurring pressure from the waterfront infrastructure doesn’t become a recurring infestation in your home.
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Our cockroach service covers both roaches and waterbugs that’s not an accident. In Brooklyn, and in Gerritsen Beach in particular, those two terms describe two different species with two different behaviors, and treating one the same as the other is how infestations come back. The service includes a full property inspection, targeted treatment using DEC-registered materials, and a follow-up plan based on what the inspection reveals. There’s no one-size protocol dropped on every home. What’s happening on Channel Avenue may be different from what’s happening two blocks over, and the treatment reflects that.
For senior residents in Gerritsen Beach and this is a neighborhood with a lot of longtime, long-tenured homeowners we offer a 10% senior discount. It’s a straightforward acknowledgment that people who have lived in these homes for decades, many of whom rebuilt after Sandy, deserve a fair deal from a company that’s been in the same borough just as long.
We also issue Demolition Clearance Certificates to the NYC Department of Health, which speaks to the level of regulatory familiarity we bring to every job. For homeowners dealing with ongoing construction activity, planned renovations, or post-flood structural work all common in Gerritsen Beach that kind of credentialed, code-aware service matters. You’re not just getting someone with a spray can. You’re getting a licensed professional who understands how New York City’s health and pest control regulations actually work.
Waterbugs which are actually American cockroaches live in sewer systems, storm drains, and the underground infrastructure that runs beneath your neighborhood. When it rains heavily, water pressure in those systems forces them upward, and they find their way into homes through floor drains, pipe gaps, and basement penetrations. In Gerritsen Beach, this is an especially persistent problem because of the neighborhood’s position along Plumb Beach Channel and Shell Bank Creek. The drainage infrastructure here connects directly to tidal waterways, which means the conditions that drive waterbug migration happen more frequently and more intensely than in inland Brooklyn neighborhoods.
The fix isn’t just spraying where you see them it’s identifying and treating the specific entry points they’re using. A drain cover, a gap around a pipe, or an unsealed basement wall can be the difference between a one-time visit and a recurring problem every spring. Our inspection process is built around finding those entry points, not just reacting to where the bugs showed up last.
Yes, waterbugs are cockroaches specifically, they’re American cockroaches, which are larger, darker, and typically come from below-grade environments like sewers and drains. The German cockroach is the smaller species that infests kitchens and multiplies rapidly indoors. They look different, behave differently, breed in different places, and require different treatment approaches. Treating a waterbug problem with the same bait gel you’d use for German cockroaches in a kitchen is not going to work and that’s exactly why so many DIY attempts fall short.
In Gerritsen Beach, it’s common to have both species present at the same time. The waterbugs come up from below, the German cockroaches spread through kitchen and bathroom spaces, and without a proper inspection to distinguish between them, you end up applying the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Our technicians identify both species during the inspection and treat accordingly which is why our service is specifically called “Roaches-Waterbugs,” not just one or the other.
Yes, when it’s done correctly and with the right materials. We only use materials registered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which means they’ve been evaluated and approved for use in residential settings including homes with children and pets. The technician will tell you what to do before treatment (such as clearing countertops or keeping pets out of treated areas for a set period) and what to expect afterward. There’s nothing hidden about the process.
Here’s the part worth keeping in mind: the cockroaches already in your home are the bigger health risk. Cockroaches carry pathogens linked to Salmonella and E. coli, and their shed skin, droppings, and saliva are documented triggers for asthma and allergic reactions particularly in children. In a home close to tidal water, where ambient humidity is higher than in inland neighborhoods, cockroach allergens can accumulate faster. Getting the infestation treated professionally and promptly is the safer choice for your family, not the riskier one.
Roach bombs foggers disperse pesticide into open air, which sounds effective but actually misses the places cockroaches actually live. Roaches hide in wall voids, inside cabinet hinges, behind appliances, and inside the gaps around pipe penetrations. Foggers don’t reach those spaces. Worse, the fog can actually cause cockroaches to scatter deeper into the walls, spreading the infestation to rooms that weren’t previously affected. Over-the-counter sprays have a similar limitation they kill on contact but don’t address harborage, breeding sites, or entry points.
In older homes and post-Sandy rebuilds common in Gerritsen Beach, there are often more wall voids, more pipe penetrations, and more structural gaps than in newer construction. That gives cockroaches more places to hide and more routes to travel through a building. Professional treatment uses targeted application methods bait placement, crack-and-crevice treatment, and void injection that reach the places where cockroaches actually live and breed. That’s the difference between a product that kills what you see and a treatment that addresses what you don’t.
For most active infestations, a minimum of two treatments spaced two to four weeks apart is the standard starting point. The first treatment eliminates the adult population. The follow-up treatment addresses newly hatched nymphs, which hatch from eggs that are resistant to most pesticides. If you only do one treatment and stop there, the nymphs reach reproductive maturity and the cycle starts over which is why so many homeowners feel like the problem “came back” when it was never fully resolved.
For homes in Gerritsen Beach with ongoing exposure to below-grade cockroach pressure meaning waterbugs migrating up from sewer infrastructure near the waterfront a one-time treatment is rarely sufficient long-term. We offer maintenance schedule options on a weekly, monthly, or every-other-month basis depending on the severity of the pressure and the specifics of the property. For homes that dealt with increased pest activity during the multi-year infrastructure project that wrapped up in 2023, an ongoing maintenance plan is often the most practical approach to keeping the problem from recurring.
Yes we offer a 10% discount for senior residents. Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood where a lot of people have been in the same home for 20, 30, sometimes 40 years. Many of those homeowners rebuilt after Sandy, dealt with years of construction on their street, and have been managing the same waterfront pest pressures the whole time. A senior discount from a company that’s been in Marine Park for just as long isn’t a promotional gimmick it’s a straightforward acknowledgment that this community has put in its time, and a local business with roots here should reflect that.
If you’re unsure whether you qualify or want to ask about pricing before scheduling, we’re straightforward about costs. There are no surprise fees added after the fact, and the inspection will give you a clear picture of what the treatment involves before anything is applied. For a neighborhood that values honesty and has a low tolerance for people who overpromise, that kind of upfront communication is part of how we operate not something we say and then don’t follow through on.
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