West Garfield Park Pest Control & Wildlife Removal

Pest Control in West Garfield Park, Chicago

West Garfield Park lies just west of the park that shares its name, bounded by rail lines and major streets and crossed by the Green Line on Lake Street and the Blue Line in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway to the south. The neighborhood built out quickly in the early 1900s, and its housing remains mostly brick two-flats, three-flats and some frame single-family cottages, with apartment buildings along Madison Street and Pulaski Road. Like several West Side communities, it has a number of vacant lots and older buildings in need of repair. Rail embankments, alleys and century-old construction make rodents and cockroaches the most common pest calls from West Garfield Park households.

Rail embankments and alleys across West Garfield Park

Elevated and freight rail embankments crisscross the edges of West Garfield Park, and their weedy slopes and ballast make durable rat habitat. Norway rats burrow along the base of these embankments and then work into alleys behind homes, nesting under garages, back porches and piles of stored material. Winter does not stop them; they simply shift closer to heated buildings and reliable garbage. Keeping cart lids shut, storing wood and tires off the ground and repairing broken garage doors removes much of what they need. Where burrows are active, secured bait stations placed by a local pro along fence lines and garage walls can reduce populations over several weeks.

Two-flats, cottages and what gets inside

The brick two-flats that line most West Garfield Park streets share basements, back stairwells and plumbing risers, which lets German cockroaches and house mice move from one household to the next. Frame cottages, some set on low foundations, face different risks: wood sills close to soil can draw eastern subterranean termites, and damp porch framing attracts carpenter ants. Owners who rent the second unit may find that roaches keep returning until both floors are treated at the same visit. Sealing gaps around radiator and gas lines, installing door sweeps and treating the basement as its own zone all help keep problems from cycling back.

Pigeons along Madison Street and Pulaski Road

Older apartment buildings with ornate ledges along Madison Street and Pulaski Road draw flocks of pigeons, and so do the rail overpasses and viaducts that cut through the area. Birds roost on window ledges, under porch roofs and in gutters, leaving droppings on stairs and sidewalks that can damage masonry and clog drains. House sparrows and European starlings also nest in open vent holes and gaps in soffits. Bird control specialists can install spikes, netting or ledge deterrents and cover open vents with screening so nesting birds cannot return. Removing droppings safely is also part of the job.

Areas served in West Garfield Park: Madison Street and Pulaski Road area, Lake Street Green Line corridor, Garfield Park edge, Kostner Avenue, Eisenhower Expressway edge, Legler Library area.