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In Seattle’s damp, temperate climate, warm mechanical rooms have become an unexpectedly attractive habitat for urban rats. Across older multifamily buildings, mixed-use properties and retrofit commercial spaces, building managers and residents increasingly report rodent activity centered not on kitchens or alleys but on the boiler rooms, utility closets and rooftop penthouses that house a building’s…

As daylight shortens and temperatures drop, many homeowners batten down windows and doors to keep heat in and energy bills down. But that winter tightening often comes at a cost: poor indoor ventilation creates conditions that invite pests to move in or thrive. Reduced air exchange traps warmth, moisture, food odors and CO2 — all…

As the rain and cool temperatures settle over Seattle, many condo owners assume pests will hibernate until spring. In reality, the city’s mild, wet winters often drive rodents, spiders, insects and other pests indoors in search of warmth, food and shelter. Condos can be especially vulnerable: shared walls and ceilings, connected ventilation and plumbing, and…

Seattle’s reputation for evergreen hills, frequent drizzle, and mild temperatures is part of what makes the city so livable — but those same climatic advantages also create ideal conditions for pests to survive and reproduce throughout the year. Unlike regions with harsh winters that regularly reduce insect and rodent populations, Seattle’s marine‑influenced climate brings cool,…

January temperatures exert an outsized influence on the seasonal behavior and distribution of many pests. As a mid-winter marker in the Northern Hemisphere (and mid-summer in the Southern Hemisphere), January conditions often determine whether insects, arachnids, rodents and other nuisance species can survive, remain dormant, become active, or move to new locations. Even small departures…

As Seattle’s damp, cool months set in, many homeowners notice the familiar sound of scurrying behind walls and along attic rafters. Winter doesn’t create rodents so much as expose the weaknesses that already exist in older houses: gaps in foundations, aging rooflines, and unsealed utility penetrations become inviting doorways to mice and rats seeking warmth,…

Seattle’s famously wet winters and occasional snowy snaps create a seasonal push-and-pull that does more than rearrange commuters’ schedules — it also drives pests from the soil and landscape into the warm, dry refuge of homes and buildings. The Pacific Northwest’s maritime climate brings long stretches of rain from fall through spring, and when snow…

Seattle’s winters are famously mild, wet, and long — a climate that may be cozy for people but is ideal for pests seeking warmth, food, and shelter. As temperatures drop and rain increases, rodents, cockroaches, spiders, overwintering beetles, ants, and even certain wood-destroying insects are driven indoors. Unlike harsher climates where cold kills off many…

Spring’s shift to warmer temperatures and longer days signals renewal for people—and a surge in activity for pests. Many common nuisance species (ants, termites, rodents, mosquitoes, ticks, and stinging insects) time their life cycles to take advantage of spring’s conditions: eggs hatch, overwintering pests become active, and mating or colony-expansion behaviors accelerate. Homes and yards…

Seattle’s winter — cool, damp and relatively mild compared with much of the country — feels cozy to people but offers plenty of invitation to rodents looking for food, warmth and dry nesting sites. Mice, Norway rats, roof rats and field rodents like voles are common around the Seattle metro area; they take shelter in…