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The holidays bring an influx of visitors, extra luggage, and a bustle of coming and going that can leave even well-managed apartment buildings vulnerable to unwanted hitchhikers — most notably bed bugs. In Green Lake, where a mix of long-term tenants, short-term rentals, and dense multifamily housing are common, the end-of-year travel season creates ideal…

Across the forests and foothills around Mount Baker, homeowners and cabin-owners commonly encounter an unwelcome winter visitor: roof rats. Often called black rats or ship rats (Rattus rattus), these slender, arboreal rodents are well adapted to exploiting the vertical landscape of trees, outbuildings and rooflines. When they become active in winter — scurrying in attics,…

Wallingford’s charm—tree‑lined streets, older homes with cozy nooks, and frequent rainy stretches—comes with one downside: persistent dampness that can invite unwelcome houseguests. Among the most common of these in moist, dim spaces are silverfish, small wingless insects that feed on starches and proteins found in paper, cardboard, textiles and some finishes. Entryway closets are particularly…

Capitol Hill’s brick row houses—narrow facades, high ceilings and close-knit blocks—are part of what makes this neighborhood so charming in December: twinkling lights, holiday wreaths and the comforting glow from inside. That same connectedness, however, makes these homes attractive to rodents looking for warmth, shelter and easy access to food. As temperatures drop, mice and…

The holiday season is a time of celebration, extra cooking, gift-wrapping and, inevitably, more household waste. In Hazelwood that seasonal surge of bags, boxes and food scraps can quickly turn into a magnet for pests — raccoons, rats, mice, opossums, foxes, and flies — if refuse is left accessible. Beyond being a nuisance, pest problems…

West Seattle’s mild, maritime climate and dense mix of older homes, multifamily buildings, and newer construction create a patchwork of indoor microclimates that roaches find easy to exploit. While outdoor temperatures rarely swing to extremes here, the variety of heat systems used in local buildings—forced air, electric baseboards, radiant floors, boilers and steam radiators, and…

Queen Anne homes—those ornate, late-Victorian houses with steep gables, wraparound porches and richly detailed interiors—often include attic spaces that are as characterful as the homes themselves. Unlike modern, purpose-built storage areas, Queen Anne attics tend to have irregular shapes, low eaves, vintage insulation and variable climate control, which creates both opportunities and challenges for storing…

Winter is a special time for gardeners in Laurelhurst: pots and protected beds bring a touch of green to shorter, grayer days, and many of us move more plant care indoors — overwintering tender specimens on sunny window sills or in spare rooms. That cozy shift, however, can invite an unwelcome companion: ants. What begins…

In many temperate cities, alleys are the intersection of human convenience and urban wildlife habitat — and Fremont’s alleys are no exception. As winter settles in, December often brings a noticeable uptick in rodent activity along alleyways that once seemed quiet. This introduction outlines why that happens and what factors conspire each December to make…

As more professionals convert spare rooms, basements and converted closets into functioning home offices, Greenwood Home Offices has become a familiar name for residents looking to balance productivity with home comfort. But alongside the rise in at-home workspaces comes an often-overlooked threat to one of the most common office materials: paper. Silverfish—small, wingless insects drawn…