Hear from Our Customers
You stop guessing. That hollow sound in the baseboard, the tiny wings near the window ledge, the soft spot in the floor you’ve been stepping around those things have answers. And once you have them, you can deal with what’s actually there instead of wondering how bad it might be.
For Gerritsen Beach homeowners specifically, the stakes are higher than most people realize. The old section south of the Gotham Avenue Canal is almost entirely original 1920s wood-frame bungalow construction the exact building type that Eastern Subterranean Termites target most aggressively. Add the fact that this neighborhood sits on a peninsula surrounded by tidal water, with sandy coastal soil and consistently elevated moisture levels from Shell Bank Creek and the Gotham Avenue Canal, and you have conditions that make termite colonies easier to establish and harder to detect early.
If your home was damaged in Hurricane Sandy, that risk compounds. Saltwater-saturated wood framing and subfloor structures are softer and more penetrable and if that wood was enclosed during post-flood repairs without being properly inspected, you may have had activity building quietly for years. Getting a real inspection from someone who understands what these homes went through is not an overreaction. It is the responsible move.
We’ve been operating out of Brooklyn since 1971 headquartered on Flatbush Avenue, a few miles from Gerritsen Avenue. The Kourbage family built this company from the ground up, and three generations later, we are still the ones answering for every job. Richard Sr. founded it. Richard Jr. joined in 1987. Charles has been running daily operations since 1989. That kind of continuity matters in a neighborhood like Gerritsen Beach where trust is built over time and people ask their neighbors before they call anyone.
Our team brings over 100 years of combined pest control experience to every inspection and treatment. We know the specific challenges of Gerritsen Beach’s pre-war housing stock, the moisture patterns that come with coastal proximity, and the damage patterns we see in homes that were flooded during Hurricane Sandy. All materials we use are registered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. We hold an A+ BBB rating, accredited since 1989. When you call, a real person picks up 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It starts with a thorough inspection. One of our licensed technicians walks the property foundation perimeter, crawl spaces, sill plates, window frames, door frames, and any wood that has direct or near-direct contact with soil. In Gerritsen Beach, that inspection pays particular attention to post-Sandy repair zones and any areas where moisture has historically been a problem. If you are buying or selling a home in the 11229 zip code, this inspection also produces the Wood Destroying Organism report your lender will require for FHA or VA mortgage approval.
If termite activity is confirmed, we explain the treatment plan to you in plain language before anything is applied. Depending on what we find, that may involve a liquid barrier treatment around the foundation, a termite baiting system, or a combination of both. Baiting systems are especially effective in neighborhoods like Gerritsen Beach because they target the colony underground not just the termites visible inside your home, but the thousands feeding from below. The colony carries the bait back to the source, and the entire population is eliminated over time.
After treatment, you receive documentation of what we found, what we applied, and what to watch for. All materials we use are NYS DEC registered, applied by our certified professionals. If you see activity return, we come back that is not a negotiation, it is our standard.
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We handle the full scope of what termite control in Gerritsen Beach actually requires. That includes termite identification, full property inspection, subterranean termite eradication, termite baiting system installation, and treatment for related wood-destroying insects like carpenter ants and powder post beetles. If you are dealing with a DOH citation, we handle that too a service that matters for any Gerritsen Beach property owner with a rental unit or multi-family structure.
For real estate transactions, the WDO inspection report we provide meets the documentation requirements for FHA and VA mortgage approvals. Given that the 11229 zip code has been seeing median sale prices around $750,000, the cost of a missed or incomplete inspection is not abstract. A clean report from a licensed Brooklyn exterminator who actually knows these homes protects your transaction and your buyer’s lender simultaneously.
Every material we apply is registered with the New York State DEC and administered by technicians holding the appropriate state certifications. In a neighborhood where homes sit on 40-by-45-foot lots and share fence lines, that matters for your family and your neighbors. Same-day inspections are frequently available, and appointments are guaranteed within two business days. You will not be waiting a week while something keeps feeding.
Yes and it comes down to a combination of factors that are specific to Gerritsen Beach. The neighborhood sits on a low-lying coastal peninsula with sandy, moisture-laden soil surrounding it on nearly every side. Subterranean termites thrive in exactly these conditions: moist soil that is easy to tunnel through, with wood structures close to ground level. The original bungalow housing stock in the old section south of Gotham Avenue built in the 1920s on 40-by-45-foot lots with wood framing set close to or directly on masonry gives termites easy access points that newer construction typically does not have.
The Hurricane Sandy factor adds another layer. Saltwater flooding in 2012 reached 10 to 12 feet in parts of Gerritsen Beach, saturating wood framing and subfloor structures throughout. Moisture-compromised wood is softer and more penetrable, which makes it easier for termites to establish a feeding site. If your home went through post-flood repairs and that structural wood was enclosed without a termite inspection, there is a real possibility that activity has been building undetected.
The most common early sign is discarded wings small, uniform wings left near windowsills, door frames, or baseboards after a swarm. Swarmers are reproductive termites that emerge in the spring, typically between March and May in the New York area, and they shed their wings almost immediately after landing. If you find a pile of wings and no obvious insect, that is a strong indicator that a colony is active nearby.
Other signs include mud tubes pencil-thin tunnels made of soil and termite secretion that run along foundation walls, piers, or exposed wood. These tubes are how subterranean termites travel from underground to their food source while keeping the humidity they need to survive. You might also notice wood that sounds hollow when tapped, paint that bubbles or blisters without a moisture source, or floors that feel soft or spongy underfoot. In Gerritsen Beach homes, these signs often show up first in the basement, crawl space, or near any wood that was close to the flood line during Sandy. If you are seeing any of these, a thorough inspection is worth scheduling right away.
The honest answer is that it depends on what we find during the inspection, the size of the property, and the treatment method required. For a single-family home in Gerritsen Beach, a full termite treatment generally runs somewhere between $1,500 and $5,000. Liquid barrier treatments and baiting systems fall at different points in that range depending on the scope of infestation and the perimeter of the structure being treated.
What is worth keeping in mind is the comparison. The average cost of termite repair structural wood replacement, subfloor repair, cosmetic damage runs around $3,000. Replacing a damaged structural beam can run $2,000 to $10,000 depending on access and extent. Most homeowner insurance policies do not cover termite damage at all, which means whatever is found is coming out of pocket. A treatment that stops the colony now is almost always significantly less expensive than dealing with the structural consequences of letting it continue. We provide a free estimate before any work begins, so you know exactly what you are looking at before you commit to anything.
If your buyer is using an FHA or VA loan which is common in the Gerritsen Beach market a Wood Destroying Organism inspection report is required by the lender before the mortgage can be approved. This report must be completed by a licensed pest control professional and documents whether any wood-destroying insects, including termites, are present or have caused damage to the structure. Without it, the transaction stalls.
Even for conventional sales, most buyers in today’s market will request a termite inspection as part of their due diligence, and sellers who have one ready tend to move through the process more smoothly. Given that homes in the 11229 zip code have been selling around a $750,000 median, a termite report is a small investment relative to the transaction value and a clean one removes a significant point of negotiation or delay. We provide WDO inspection reports that meet lender requirements, and our familiarity with Gerritsen Beach’s specific housing stock means the inspection goes beyond a surface-level check.
Liquid barrier treatments, when properly applied, typically provide protection for five years or more. Termite baiting systems work on an ongoing monitoring basis stations are installed around the property perimeter and checked periodically to detect activity and replenish bait as needed. The baiting approach is particularly well-suited to Gerritsen Beach because the coastal soil conditions and persistent moisture mean termite pressure does not disappear after a single treatment. Monitoring over time gives you an early warning system rather than a one-time fix.
Whether retreatment is needed depends on several factors: the severity of the original infestation, how thoroughly the colony was eliminated, and what the ongoing environmental conditions look like around the structure. In a flood zone neighborhood where soil moisture stays elevated year-round and the housing stock is predominantly pre-war wood-frame, ongoing vigilance is simply part of responsible homeownership. We back every treatment with a clear guarantee if termites return within the coverage period, we come back to address it. That commitment is in writing, not just something said over the phone.
This is one of the most common questions we get, and it is a fair one. Gerritsen Beach homes are not large the original bungalow lots run 40 by 45 feet, and families live in close proximity to every part of the structure being treated. The short answer is yes, when applied correctly by a licensed professional using registered materials, termite treatments are safe for your household.
Every product we apply is registered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and administered by our certified technicians following EPA safety protocols. Targeted application means the treatment goes where termites are active foundation perimeters, soil injection points, and specific structural areas not broadcast throughout your living space. Our technician will walk you through any precautions specific to your home before work begins, including any temporary ventilation recommendations or re-entry timing if applicable. If you have specific concerns about a particular product or application method, ask directly we will give you a straight answer, not a rehearsed one.
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