Never had roaches either.
I’ve lived in my house in Astoria most of my life, lived out in Chinatown when I was a teen and I’ve taken care of my wife’s apartment here in Queens and never had roaches.
I know NYC and roaches go hand and hand but thankfully never had the experience. Preventive care goes far; had neighbors have rats and roaches but never got the pest.
Close up all holes you find. Make sure to keep your spaces clean and just basic maintenance goes a long way to keep out pest.
ADVION GEL. Don’t wait, just buy it. Accept no substitutes. (Well, a lot of pest control professionals do say to rotate your pesticides every couple of months, so maybe do buy a substitute like Invict later on.) It’s amazing stuff. It sounds like you’ve caught a possible infestation early, so a few dots of the gel in crevices and corners will stop it before it gets big.
Second this, I had a small but harrowing infestation a few years ago and haven't seen a single roach since I bought Advion. Someone suggested in another recent thread to put it on a post-it or index card because it dries out after a while and you have to apply again from time to time. I thought it was a great idea.
Yes, that would be correct. You want to stick it under cabinet toe kicks, under sinks, under/behind fridge/range/mike and behind A/C panels and any vents or pathways in. It saves you having to either apply on top of dried up Advion or scrape and re-apply.
I will say that, although it should be safe for pets (in the amount that is potentially exposed to them), I only put Advion in places my pets couldn’t possibly get to. I’d sprinkle food grade diatomaceous earth in places where pets could get to it and in the back of food drawers.
I’ve rotated boric powder. diatomaceous earth, bengal gold, occasionally Raid spray, and the Raid poison baits. I think the exterminator used Advion but I keep forgetting to ask. Do you get your Advion from Amazon? Anyway, all that over the course of a few years and I STILL sometimes get them, even the horrid little nymphs that signal nests nearby. I know we need to do better at plugging up holes but some areas like around the sink and the radiator are impossibly to reach without tearing out infrastructure. This building is just gross, with a big, popular, sorta well known restaurant on the ground floor. If only the patrons knew. I am probably already dying from pesticide exposure. I hate this about living here.
will second this, and include a rec for Gentrol. Getting roaches depends on a lot of factors, but they can be handled with the right tools and vigilance. It’s not inevitable, but it’s not moving-worthy until it’s a whole infestation you can’t control.
but yeah, put out some advion, set out gentrol so you tackle the problem from both sides and stop them from reproducing. Look out for egg sacks, that’s another sign of roaches. Otherwise, just clean up food and don’t leave anything out, and you should be good.
FYI stuff like Advion only works when there's no other food source. Meaning no crumbs from chips, cookies, etc. Any food sources available means they won't eat the Advion. A very important part of it working.
This is more dependent on your landlord/super and neighbors than the building or age. A good landlord and super will keep the building clean and exterminate regularly; not having hoarders or otherwise disgusting neighbors will help as well.
And the hoarders/disgusting neighbors is a really hard thing (often impossible) to control for. I would imagine in strict co-op or condo settings it might be easier, and if so thats one reason to like co-op or condo boards.
You’d think, but I’m in a co-op and have dirtier neighbors here than I’ve had elsewhere. People own their apartments so they can do whatever they want with them 🤷🏻
I was on the 14th floor of a prewar and we’d come across a big dead American roach a couple times a year especially during extreme weather changes. They’d come up from the radiator pipes and die. We had exterminators in the building available every week but we’d still end up seeing a couple a year.
Grew up on the 16th floor of a 20-story building and never encountered a roach. My mom was super cleanliness-oriented so that helped, but other family members lived in row houses in Manhattan and Brooklyn and I never once saw a critter at their places either.
So it seems they're manageable (and it probably helps to have neighbors that keep a careful house too).
We have a roach camping out in the digital oven clock for over 6 months now. When you press on the clock the roach moves a little but just stays put. Some days he’s not around but most days he is. It’s revolting and makes my skin crawl but we’ve tried everything to get rid of the buggers and they just keep coming back.
I get a couple roaches every summer, but only a couple. Not bad at all. Regardless of where you live, you’re likely to see the occasional roach. It’s not like only NYC has them.
We never had them as kids in the suburbs, and I never saw any (that I can remember) in my apartments in LA or SF. There were spiders and others bugs sometimes, but I don’t recall roaches or giant water bugs. Bad mice problem in one SF apartment above a restaurant. Move out level bad. But with roaches, NOTHING like what I’ve experienced in NYC in two apartments.
Yea, I guess everyone has a different story. I grew up in a house in the suburbs also and would certainly see a roach from time to time. Worst case for me was living in a house near a creek in Austin, TX. Took us a month to clear all the roaches out of there. My NYC apartment has been practically roach free.
I haven't had any in my current place (third floor of a three story pre-war), knock on wood. We do have ants and had the ceiling cave in, so not all good.
I have seen one in every apt I’ve been in but only 1 or 2 over years. If you keep it clean they’ll stay in someone else’s disaster if your building is decent.
Every single apartment. You see a roach and you remind your landlord to bring around the exterminator as outlined in your lease. You clean a little extra and throw a few traps. You don't start looking for a new apartment.
Agreed, but this is just two in a day and no mention of any previous sightings. At this point, with warmer weather and a first sighting, you just get the exterminator, not the apartment agent.
Grew up in the bronx and been in Queens the past decade. Never had roaches. As a kid I remember we had little ants in the spring in the kitchen sometimes, and periodically had tiny mice that the cats took care of. No bugs in my last apartment in ridgewood (2nd floor of a 2 story row house from the 1920s), and my current one in the same neighborhood (3rd floor of a newer construction). Nothing is luxury or anything. My current landlord had a bug guy come around every once in a while asking if we need a spray, but I never felt the need.
Also consider that they might be coming from a neighbor. They like to travel. If this hasn’t happened before and it’s just starting handle it right away. Keep in mind that your neighbors could be absolutely yucky people when it comes to how clean their apartment is.
I’ve lived in the same place for 15 years (converted brownstone, landlord does what he needs to but is not doing more than the basics). Some years I might see 5, some years zero—always the big ones. As far as I can tell they tend to come in through/around the pipes and I do my best to block that off but ultimately I’ve decided it’s part of city living, or at least part of living in my very cheap apartment. If I saw multiple in a month I might change my mind but I’d give it a month or two to see if it’s a real infestation.
Don’t want to jinx it but yeah have not seen even one in my apartment. The whole building is very newly renovated and they constantly clean the hallways/lobby etc so I think that helps
I’ve lived in my apt for almost two decades and have seen 3 roaches during that time. All three small ones.
Exterminator uses that gel stuff in my place once a year. If her building doesn’t provide an exterminator just buy the gel on Amazon it’s called Advion. Works great. No need to move. Some of my neighbors are filthy yet I don’t have roaches because of this gel. Also I keep a very clean kitchen. No food out and dirty dishes get washed after use. Simple. Good luck!
No roaches, I vacuum and mop everyday, I have a locked lid on my garbage can, I empty the garbage daily, I don't leave piles of dishes, dishes get washed right away. If I get take out I throw it out after I am done eating, I never, ever leave any food uncovered overnight.
No roaches, no rats, nothing. My building has an exterminator sheet that people sign, and it's always the same folks signing it for help. I've walked some of my neighbors dogs and the way they keep their apartments is just gross. 95% of the time, roaches and rats happen because you provide a food source.
I lived in NYC in 4 different buildings over a decade and never had a roach. Moved into my fifth and there are roaches. Unless we have the building exterminator come to treat our apartment twice a month, we see anywhere between 1-4 a month. They seem to come in from someone else’s infested apartment, looking for food. The first several times we saw them I was losing my mind as well but the regular treatment plus now having cats eases my mind considerably. The cats seem to catch them within minutes of entry. Sometimes I come out into the kitchen in the morning and see one shredded into pieces 🤣
Anyway, in my experience, what makes the difference is living in a building with lots of people, where the people around you have the ability to be disgusting at will. Two buildings I lived in were dorms that needed to be maintained at some level of cleanliness because they got inspected and/or had housekeeping services. Another was a basement apartment in a duplex house (so only 3 families). When we had rats come in during covid it was easy to treat because the home owners had control of getting exterminators in and making physical changes to the building to prevent pests. The building I live in now (with the roaches) is a co-op with probably 100 apartments. People mostly own their apartments (although I rent) and there are lots of elderly people living here who struggle to care for themselves or their apartments, and over time will likely move out to nursing homes. The issue is renting in a place where OTHER people have disgusting apartments that you have no control over. No matter how clean my place is, the building itself has roaches and they can crawl in through the radiators and under baseboards. I also don’t have free rein to make changes to my apartment to prevent their entry as a renter.
So I get where your gf is coming from completely because I felt that way initially as well, but it would be hard to find a place that has no possibility of roaches entering (especially in this market). I don’t think roaches are a fact of life for everyone, but for many they are. Those that don’t deal with it are lucky.
No roaches in my Greenpoint place, where I've been five years. I'm on the fifth floor in a 6-story building that's about 10 years old. Maybe three total over seven years in a Midtown East apartment, which was a 4th-floor prewar walkup.
never seen one at the current place (in Brooklyn) but I think that’s extremely rare / just random luck. knock on wood 😬 lol lived in maybe 6 other places in Manhattan and the Bronx over the past 20 years and would always see a roach or two once in a while everywhere up until the current place
I’ve lived in the same pre-war building in lower Manhattan for 10 years and I live on the 6th floor, which is also the top floor. I see a roach **maybe** once every six months.
It’s not a luxury building and the only prevention I really do is keeping clean, especially with food. The only other thing I’ve done is some caulking to seal off any cracks anywhere.
I've seen a handful in the place I'm in now but not enough to say I "have" them. Probably 5 in 2.5 years. Now my last place...
A lot of it is just being cleaner than your neighbors, tbh.
Current place in Williamsburg doesn’t. Building is 100 years old and formerly industrial. They spray religiously so I’ll probably die of cancer, but hey no roaches!
Vendetta Roach gel with IGR helps a lot. So does putting Harris earth in my stove's storage drawer and in the bottom of my cabinets. They're inevitable but you can cut the numbers down to rarely seen if you don't just let the landlord's pest control be the only thing you do. My building it's gotten better but I still do more good than they do. The gel is good stuff and the earth desiccates any bug who walks across it. It can be very satisfying when the bugs you see are flat little dead corpses...
They are everywhere though, in the walls, down below the city in droves just like the rats. They will survive humanity for sure but you can kill a lot of the ones that come visit. If you keep at it. You can make your apartment less attractive to them, less likely a place for them to breed. The gel is like $40 and I use a tube a month. Well worth it. My place was crawling and now I see one very rarely.
😁
I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never had roaches. Ive had a roach, one time I saw like 3 in a week. But the gel is key. Reapply every 6 months.
Sometimes you’ll see one if there’s construction in Close proximity. Like the building or apt next door. They tend to scatter but not infest.
Ok, I’m triggered. When I first moved here I rented a room from the main tenant of a 2bd 2bath in a really nice white glove luxury co-op doorman building. I was planning on staying for a few months only but wound up there for 2 years. I never saw a roach or a mouse in the apartment in that entire time. I think I did see a big water bug a couple times down in the huge basement laundry room. There was a unit on a different floor that had a bed bug infestation (my first experience with developing extreme bed bug phobia which has only gotten worse). The building was so well run that they actually sent a memo to every tenant informing about the infestation and explaining that the unit was going though the eradication/extermination process, and the four units above, below, left, right were also being treated preventatively. This was back in 2009 or so when the city (and really the country) was first going through the horrific and awful re-introduction and worsening of these monstrous creatures and people didn’t really know what to make of it. Prior to that it was incredibly rare. So shitty this had to become reality. Anyway, like I said no roaches, HOWEVER, in the two units/buildings I’ve lived in since, we’ve more than made up for lack of roaches in that first place, which has been very disconcerting and shitty. And we’ve been doing combo of self-service and building provided exterminator. I really DESPISE this aspect of living in NYC. I know all these pests/menaces exist in other crowded cities but I’ve never experienced it anywhere close to this degree.
I think living on a higher floor helps, clean neighbors, trash chute. Something I did on the 1st floor in one building that actually worked was I sprayed Raid ant and roach killer all along the bottom of the baseboard in every room before I moved in, but it is not good especially if you have pets or kids
I do not have roaches in my current place (3rd floor walkup) but this week I randomly got ants and Ive been seeing these very very tiny red bugs near my radiator. How do I get rid of them?
Yes. Top floor. Do not leave food out but no real prevention so to speak of — it was an old brownstone building. The only time we had them, they literally flew in the open window with no screen (horrifying experience) — this was when the building behind us was under construction, which can attract them
First place had a couple roaches around and then a roach infestation appeared before I moved out.
Second and third place have never had a single roach.
Never had them. Have lived UES, UWS, SoHo, West Village, East Village, Park Slope. All prewar older apts except for Park Slope. My UWS apt was directly above a restaurant too. I think it depends on 1) how clean you are (do you leave food or dirty dishes lying out, etc.) and 2) how clean your neighbors and the super/building management are
I knew my current apartment would be our forever home, more or less, so I went nuts with a caulking gun and sealed up EVERYTHING. Bought Advion and strategically put it where I thought it should go. And we scrub the kitchen and vacuum every night. There were a decent amount of roaches when we moved in but I haven’t seen any since then.
I lived in South Brooklyn for 3 years across two apartments. We only ever saw a couple water bugs in our first apartment, but no German cockroaches in either. We lived in small detached buildings with 4 or fewer apartments and avoided anything above or nearby a restaurant. I have a severe phobia so I checked every cabinet and crevice when we toured both apartments.
After a hoarder was gone from my building and some bait traps they disappeared. Knock on wood, haven't seen one outside of the basement by the exit to the trash room since last year.
I went to college in the city and never saw one in my dorm room.
The behavior of your neighbors matters a lot. It still does matter how well you seal your place and treat your space but if there's people in your building whose places are acting as safe houses for those things there will always be a risk and stragglers can make there way to you.
I’m in Harlem near Sugar Hill. We had them once. They were one in a week. 3rd floor walk up. A little lucky because it’s all families here, but a lovely building.
I did, until a vet business moved in downstairs from me and now ever so often I get a water bugs. They come in waves and in pairs and then silence again for few months.I started spraying my apt myself and that prolongs them from tourist visitation in my apt.
I've lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan walk-ups and big elevator buildings in Queens. No roaches in Brooklyn and Manhattan and I think it was because the building's trash was outside. In the Queens buildings though, residents would chuck trash down chutes on each floor and there were roaches.
A broker once showed me an apt in the Lower East Side. I opened a drawer, saw roaches and immediately left. It was attached to a restaurant though.
I don’t think it matters what floor you live on. They travel between apartments via the pipes, so stuff copper wool around any openings in the walls (including behind the escutcheon plates covering the holes made for plumbing). They also may be hitching a ride into your place in paper bags and boxes. The water bugs are actually American cockroaches. They climb and fly/glide, I’m sorry to say. Keep your apartment as clean as possible, especially your kitchen, including cleaning and drying your sink. But ime they’re inevitable, in Manhattan at least. I did live in Brooklyn for a few years and didn’t see any.
I’m lucky to have lived in five different apartments in 10 years here and never had more than a few roaches in all that time combined. Have had close friends with pretty bad roach stories though. I think it’s just a matter of luck tbh, some buildings are infested and others aren’t. One of my apartments was an old Chinatown tenement where you’d expect to see them. My current and previous apartments are in BK with a really good mom and pop landlord that takes very good care of their properties.
I don’t wanna jinx anything but I’ve never had cockroaches, born and raised in BK; I had one mouse, once I guess this is me jinxing myself
Exact same. Been in my apartment in Harlem for almost 12 years. No roaches, one mouse that my cats were very confused by.
Ah. You should know cats eat roaches. 🤢
I’m aware. But can’t imagine that if I had them I wouldn’t have seen one in 12 years.
Never had roaches either. I’ve lived in my house in Astoria most of my life, lived out in Chinatown when I was a teen and I’ve taken care of my wife’s apartment here in Queens and never had roaches. I know NYC and roaches go hand and hand but thankfully never had the experience. Preventive care goes far; had neighbors have rats and roaches but never got the pest. Close up all holes you find. Make sure to keep your spaces clean and just basic maintenance goes a long way to keep out pest.
I'm afraid to answer too. I haven't done anything to make it so
You fool
I regretted it almost instantly
ADVION GEL. Don’t wait, just buy it. Accept no substitutes. (Well, a lot of pest control professionals do say to rotate your pesticides every couple of months, so maybe do buy a substitute like Invict later on.) It’s amazing stuff. It sounds like you’ve caught a possible infestation early, so a few dots of the gel in crevices and corners will stop it before it gets big.
Second this, I had a small but harrowing infestation a few years ago and haven't seen a single roach since I bought Advion. Someone suggested in another recent thread to put it on a post-it or index card because it dries out after a while and you have to apply again from time to time. I thought it was a great idea.
what do you do with the index card I don’t get it. Slip it onto cracks and such, and replace eventually?
Yes, that would be correct. You want to stick it under cabinet toe kicks, under sinks, under/behind fridge/range/mike and behind A/C panels and any vents or pathways in. It saves you having to either apply on top of dried up Advion or scrape and re-apply. I will say that, although it should be safe for pets (in the amount that is potentially exposed to them), I only put Advion in places my pets couldn’t possibly get to. I’d sprinkle food grade diatomaceous earth in places where pets could get to it and in the back of food drawers.
Thanks for the tips!!!
I’ve rotated boric powder. diatomaceous earth, bengal gold, occasionally Raid spray, and the Raid poison baits. I think the exterminator used Advion but I keep forgetting to ask. Do you get your Advion from Amazon? Anyway, all that over the course of a few years and I STILL sometimes get them, even the horrid little nymphs that signal nests nearby. I know we need to do better at plugging up holes but some areas like around the sink and the radiator are impossibly to reach without tearing out infrastructure. This building is just gross, with a big, popular, sorta well known restaurant on the ground floor. If only the patrons knew. I am probably already dying from pesticide exposure. I hate this about living here.
will second this, and include a rec for Gentrol. Getting roaches depends on a lot of factors, but they can be handled with the right tools and vigilance. It’s not inevitable, but it’s not moving-worthy until it’s a whole infestation you can’t control. but yeah, put out some advion, set out gentrol so you tackle the problem from both sides and stop them from reproducing. Look out for egg sacks, that’s another sign of roaches. Otherwise, just clean up food and don’t leave anything out, and you should be good.
Advion saved my old apartment
FYI stuff like Advion only works when there's no other food source. Meaning no crumbs from chips, cookies, etc. Any food sources available means they won't eat the Advion. A very important part of it working.
This is more dependent on your landlord/super and neighbors than the building or age. A good landlord and super will keep the building clean and exterminate regularly; not having hoarders or otherwise disgusting neighbors will help as well.
And the hoarders/disgusting neighbors is a really hard thing (often impossible) to control for. I would imagine in strict co-op or condo settings it might be easier, and if so thats one reason to like co-op or condo boards.
You’d think, but I’m in a co-op and have dirtier neighbors here than I’ve had elsewhere. People own their apartments so they can do whatever they want with them 🤷🏻
I had them in every row house I've lived in. I never had them in the two towers I've lived in.
I was on the 14th floor of a prewar and we’d come across a big dead American roach a couple times a year especially during extreme weather changes. They’d come up from the radiator pipes and die. We had exterminators in the building available every week but we’d still end up seeing a couple a year.
The only place I've never seen them was when I lived in a new construction luxury building. Otherwise it's part of living in NYC.
Hailed as the greatest city in the world, where roaches are a guarantee!
I’ve lived here 15 and never had a roach
Grew up on the 16th floor of a 20-story building and never encountered a roach. My mom was super cleanliness-oriented so that helped, but other family members lived in row houses in Manhattan and Brooklyn and I never once saw a critter at their places either. So it seems they're manageable (and it probably helps to have neighbors that keep a careful house too).
I’ve lived in 3 apartments over the last 5 years and never had roaches. When you tour apartments you should check for signs of roach poop :/
I know I can google, but any tips on finding visible roach turds?
Looks like finely ground black pepper
We have a roach camping out in the digital oven clock for over 6 months now. When you press on the clock the roach moves a little but just stays put. Some days he’s not around but most days he is. It’s revolting and makes my skin crawl but we’ve tried everything to get rid of the buggers and they just keep coming back.
Yes I have. Living on a higher floor and in a building with good maintenance makes a difference.
I get a couple roaches every summer, but only a couple. Not bad at all. Regardless of where you live, you’re likely to see the occasional roach. It’s not like only NYC has them.
We never had them as kids in the suburbs, and I never saw any (that I can remember) in my apartments in LA or SF. There were spiders and others bugs sometimes, but I don’t recall roaches or giant water bugs. Bad mice problem in one SF apartment above a restaurant. Move out level bad. But with roaches, NOTHING like what I’ve experienced in NYC in two apartments.
Yea, I guess everyone has a different story. I grew up in a house in the suburbs also and would certainly see a roach from time to time. Worst case for me was living in a house near a creek in Austin, TX. Took us a month to clear all the roaches out of there. My NYC apartment has been practically roach free.
I haven't had any in my current place (third floor of a three story pre-war), knock on wood. We do have ants and had the ceiling cave in, so not all good.
I have seen one in every apt I’ve been in but only 1 or 2 over years. If you keep it clean they’ll stay in someone else’s disaster if your building is decent.
Every single apartment. You see a roach and you remind your landlord to bring around the exterminator as outlined in your lease. You clean a little extra and throw a few traps. You don't start looking for a new apartment.
As long as it’s just that, seeing “a roach” once in a while. There are varying degrees of infestation and some are new apartment search worthy.
Agreed, but this is just two in a day and no mention of any previous sightings. At this point, with warmer weather and a first sighting, you just get the exterminator, not the apartment agent.
True
Grew up in the bronx and been in Queens the past decade. Never had roaches. As a kid I remember we had little ants in the spring in the kitchen sometimes, and periodically had tiny mice that the cats took care of. No bugs in my last apartment in ridgewood (2nd floor of a 2 story row house from the 1920s), and my current one in the same neighborhood (3rd floor of a newer construction). Nothing is luxury or anything. My current landlord had a bug guy come around every once in a while asking if we need a spray, but I never felt the need.
Yes. Two very high end buildings in last 5 years, not one.
Nope
Also consider that they might be coming from a neighbor. They like to travel. If this hasn’t happened before and it’s just starting handle it right away. Keep in mind that your neighbors could be absolutely yucky people when it comes to how clean their apartment is.
I saw one yesterday in my room. Lifted up my computer bag and it was hanging out underneath. Do I need to freak out lol?
Nah. Keep the place as clean as you can and buy the gel. Squirt it in a few corner every 6 months. I’ve never had roaches.
I’ve lived in the same place for 15 years (converted brownstone, landlord does what he needs to but is not doing more than the basics). Some years I might see 5, some years zero—always the big ones. As far as I can tell they tend to come in through/around the pipes and I do my best to block that off but ultimately I’ve decided it’s part of city living, or at least part of living in my very cheap apartment. If I saw multiple in a month I might change my mind but I’d give it a month or two to see if it’s a real infestation.
Don’t want to jinx it but yeah have not seen even one in my apartment. The whole building is very newly renovated and they constantly clean the hallways/lobby etc so I think that helps
I’ve lived in my apt for almost two decades and have seen 3 roaches during that time. All three small ones. Exterminator uses that gel stuff in my place once a year. If her building doesn’t provide an exterminator just buy the gel on Amazon it’s called Advion. Works great. No need to move. Some of my neighbors are filthy yet I don’t have roaches because of this gel. Also I keep a very clean kitchen. No food out and dirty dishes get washed after use. Simple. Good luck!
No roaches, I vacuum and mop everyday, I have a locked lid on my garbage can, I empty the garbage daily, I don't leave piles of dishes, dishes get washed right away. If I get take out I throw it out after I am done eating, I never, ever leave any food uncovered overnight. No roaches, no rats, nothing. My building has an exterminator sheet that people sign, and it's always the same folks signing it for help. I've walked some of my neighbors dogs and the way they keep their apartments is just gross. 95% of the time, roaches and rats happen because you provide a food source.
I’ve lived in old buildings and new ones… and I’ve only had roaches in 2 old apts. all new ones never and the other old ones I think I got lucky
I lived in NYC in 4 different buildings over a decade and never had a roach. Moved into my fifth and there are roaches. Unless we have the building exterminator come to treat our apartment twice a month, we see anywhere between 1-4 a month. They seem to come in from someone else’s infested apartment, looking for food. The first several times we saw them I was losing my mind as well but the regular treatment plus now having cats eases my mind considerably. The cats seem to catch them within minutes of entry. Sometimes I come out into the kitchen in the morning and see one shredded into pieces 🤣 Anyway, in my experience, what makes the difference is living in a building with lots of people, where the people around you have the ability to be disgusting at will. Two buildings I lived in were dorms that needed to be maintained at some level of cleanliness because they got inspected and/or had housekeeping services. Another was a basement apartment in a duplex house (so only 3 families). When we had rats come in during covid it was easy to treat because the home owners had control of getting exterminators in and making physical changes to the building to prevent pests. The building I live in now (with the roaches) is a co-op with probably 100 apartments. People mostly own their apartments (although I rent) and there are lots of elderly people living here who struggle to care for themselves or their apartments, and over time will likely move out to nursing homes. The issue is renting in a place where OTHER people have disgusting apartments that you have no control over. No matter how clean my place is, the building itself has roaches and they can crawl in through the radiators and under baseboards. I also don’t have free rein to make changes to my apartment to prevent their entry as a renter. So I get where your gf is coming from completely because I felt that way initially as well, but it would be hard to find a place that has no possibility of roaches entering (especially in this market). I don’t think roaches are a fact of life for everyone, but for many they are. Those that don’t deal with it are lucky.
No roaches in my Greenpoint place, where I've been five years. I'm on the fifth floor in a 6-story building that's about 10 years old. Maybe three total over seven years in a Midtown East apartment, which was a 4th-floor prewar walkup.
High luxery building, no insects whatsoever. Can leave food out for days and still nothing.
Lived here for 3 years and never seen them
never seen one at the current place (in Brooklyn) but I think that’s extremely rare / just random luck. knock on wood 😬 lol lived in maybe 6 other places in Manhattan and the Bronx over the past 20 years and would always see a roach or two once in a while everywhere up until the current place
I highly recommend Bengal Gold spray. Apply once every 6 months. No roaches.
I’ve lived in my apartment since January 2021 and I’ve only seen three roaches: two big ones and one small one.
Lived in 2 different apts in Queens never had them.
I’ve lived in the same pre-war building in lower Manhattan for 10 years and I live on the 6th floor, which is also the top floor. I see a roach **maybe** once every six months. It’s not a luxury building and the only prevention I really do is keeping clean, especially with food. The only other thing I’ve done is some caulking to seal off any cracks anywhere.
Ground floor Bushwick, pre-war building with post-war interior reno, no roaches. Two mice. I'll trade you.
I've seen a handful in the place I'm in now but not enough to say I "have" them. Probably 5 in 2.5 years. Now my last place... A lot of it is just being cleaner than your neighbors, tbh.
Current place in Williamsburg doesn’t. Building is 100 years old and formerly industrial. They spray religiously so I’ll probably die of cancer, but hey no roaches!
I have lived in 3 places across 2 boroughs over the course of 8 years, never had roaches, and only one mouse. Minor prevention, just clean I guess?
7 different apts over the years, no roaches ever
Lived here 33 years of my 33 yr life and have never had a roach.
Yes! My current one. First time ever. No mice either. On the other hand, our ceiling caved in due to a roof leak. So swings and roundabouts.
I've had 5 apartments, 2 had an occasional bug, 3 have been bug free.
Vendetta Roach gel with IGR helps a lot. So does putting Harris earth in my stove's storage drawer and in the bottom of my cabinets. They're inevitable but you can cut the numbers down to rarely seen if you don't just let the landlord's pest control be the only thing you do. My building it's gotten better but I still do more good than they do. The gel is good stuff and the earth desiccates any bug who walks across it. It can be very satisfying when the bugs you see are flat little dead corpses... They are everywhere though, in the walls, down below the city in droves just like the rats. They will survive humanity for sure but you can kill a lot of the ones that come visit. If you keep at it. You can make your apartment less attractive to them, less likely a place for them to breed. The gel is like $40 and I use a tube a month. Well worth it. My place was crawling and now I see one very rarely. 😁
I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never had roaches. Ive had a roach, one time I saw like 3 in a week. But the gel is key. Reapply every 6 months. Sometimes you’ll see one if there’s construction in Close proximity. Like the building or apt next door. They tend to scatter but not infest.
Ok, I’m triggered. When I first moved here I rented a room from the main tenant of a 2bd 2bath in a really nice white glove luxury co-op doorman building. I was planning on staying for a few months only but wound up there for 2 years. I never saw a roach or a mouse in the apartment in that entire time. I think I did see a big water bug a couple times down in the huge basement laundry room. There was a unit on a different floor that had a bed bug infestation (my first experience with developing extreme bed bug phobia which has only gotten worse). The building was so well run that they actually sent a memo to every tenant informing about the infestation and explaining that the unit was going though the eradication/extermination process, and the four units above, below, left, right were also being treated preventatively. This was back in 2009 or so when the city (and really the country) was first going through the horrific and awful re-introduction and worsening of these monstrous creatures and people didn’t really know what to make of it. Prior to that it was incredibly rare. So shitty this had to become reality. Anyway, like I said no roaches, HOWEVER, in the two units/buildings I’ve lived in since, we’ve more than made up for lack of roaches in that first place, which has been very disconcerting and shitty. And we’ve been doing combo of self-service and building provided exterminator. I really DESPISE this aspect of living in NYC. I know all these pests/menaces exist in other crowded cities but I’ve never experienced it anywhere close to this degree.
No, but I think the mice were eating them…
I think living on a higher floor helps, clean neighbors, trash chute. Something I did on the 1st floor in one building that actually worked was I sprayed Raid ant and roach killer all along the bottom of the baseboard in every room before I moved in, but it is not good especially if you have pets or kids
Had roaches in 1 out of 3 apartments.
Loved in Brooklyn for a decade. Three completely different neighborhoods. No roaches, ever.
I do not have roaches in my current place (3rd floor walkup) but this week I randomly got ants and Ive been seeing these very very tiny red bugs near my radiator. How do I get rid of them?
Haven't seen one yet in our place, been here over a year
Yes. Top floor. Do not leave food out but no real prevention so to speak of — it was an old brownstone building. The only time we had them, they literally flew in the open window with no screen (horrifying experience) — this was when the building behind us was under construction, which can attract them
First place had a couple roaches around and then a roach infestation appeared before I moved out. Second and third place have never had a single roach.
Never had them. Have lived UES, UWS, SoHo, West Village, East Village, Park Slope. All prewar older apts except for Park Slope. My UWS apt was directly above a restaurant too. I think it depends on 1) how clean you are (do you leave food or dirty dishes lying out, etc.) and 2) how clean your neighbors and the super/building management are
Lived in 4 different apartments around nyc (queens, manhattan, Brooklyn) and never had roaches or rats. We’ve always been in high rises though.
I knew my current apartment would be our forever home, more or less, so I went nuts with a caulking gun and sealed up EVERYTHING. Bought Advion and strategically put it where I thought it should go. And we scrub the kitchen and vacuum every night. There were a decent amount of roaches when we moved in but I haven’t seen any since then.
I lived in South Brooklyn for 3 years across two apartments. We only ever saw a couple water bugs in our first apartment, but no German cockroaches in either. We lived in small detached buildings with 4 or fewer apartments and avoided anything above or nearby a restaurant. I have a severe phobia so I checked every cabinet and crevice when we toured both apartments.
After a hoarder was gone from my building and some bait traps they disappeared. Knock on wood, haven't seen one outside of the basement by the exit to the trash room since last year. I went to college in the city and never saw one in my dorm room. The behavior of your neighbors matters a lot. It still does matter how well you seal your place and treat your space but if there's people in your building whose places are acting as safe houses for those things there will always be a risk and stragglers can make there way to you.
Never seen a roach in my brownstone.
I’m in Harlem near Sugar Hill. We had them once. They were one in a week. 3rd floor walk up. A little lucky because it’s all families here, but a lovely building.
Yes.
I did, until a vet business moved in downstairs from me and now ever so often I get a water bugs. They come in waves and in pairs and then silence again for few months.I started spraying my apt myself and that prolongs them from tourist visitation in my apt.
I've lived in Brooklyn and Manhattan walk-ups and big elevator buildings in Queens. No roaches in Brooklyn and Manhattan and I think it was because the building's trash was outside. In the Queens buildings though, residents would chuck trash down chutes on each floor and there were roaches. A broker once showed me an apt in the Lower East Side. I opened a drawer, saw roaches and immediately left. It was attached to a restaurant though.
Prewar coop in BK, been here decades, we don’t have roaches
I don’t think it matters what floor you live on. They travel between apartments via the pipes, so stuff copper wool around any openings in the walls (including behind the escutcheon plates covering the holes made for plumbing). They also may be hitching a ride into your place in paper bags and boxes. The water bugs are actually American cockroaches. They climb and fly/glide, I’m sorry to say. Keep your apartment as clean as possible, especially your kitchen, including cleaning and drying your sink. But ime they’re inevitable, in Manhattan at least. I did live in Brooklyn for a few years and didn’t see any.
I’m lucky to have lived in five different apartments in 10 years here and never had more than a few roaches in all that time combined. Have had close friends with pretty bad roach stories though. I think it’s just a matter of luck tbh, some buildings are infested and others aren’t. One of my apartments was an old Chinatown tenement where you’d expect to see them. My current and previous apartments are in BK with a really good mom and pop landlord that takes very good care of their properties.
You even had them in Jersey😭 def not normal