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Queen Anne homes are prized for their ornate trim, asymmetrical facades and richly detailed windows — features that give these houses their character but also present special maintenance challenges. Basement windows on Queen Anne houses are often small, original wood sashes or hopper-style openings set low to the ground, sometimes with decorative stained or leaded…

When university campuses empty out for a holiday break, the streets and dormitories of the university district often look like they’re taking a collective breath — but that same exodus of students, staff and visitors is exactly what turns these neighborhoods into hotspots for bed bug spread. Mass movement of people and belongings, short-term stays…

In West Seattle, where a maritime climate brings cool, damp winters and many houses are a mix of older Craftsman-era homes and modern builds, attic performance plays a large role in year-round comfort and energy costs. Attics are supposed to act as a thermal buffer: properly sealed and insulated, they keep heat in the living…

Ballard’s charming stock of older homes comes with character—and an architectural and maintenance profile that sometimes invites seasonal pest problems. One of the more common and underappreciated winter nuisances in these properties is the influx of “moisture ants.” These small, often overlooked insects are attracted to damp, decaying wood and persistently wet environments, and they…

In many older, densely built neighborhoods, laundry areas — whether in shared basement rooms, building utility closets, or cramped in-unit nooks — create exactly the conditions cockroaches need to thrive. Capitol Hill’s mix of historic rowhouses, converted multi-unit buildings, and communal facilities often includes aging plumbing, intermittent leaks, and limited ventilation. Those factors, combined with…

As the holidays approach, Greenwood transforms into a landscape of twinkling lights, overflowing gift baskets and festive gatherings — and, unintentionally, a banquet for rodents. Holiday waste is uniquely attractive to rats and mice: generous portions of food scraps, discarded sweets, packaging that traps odors, and piles of insulation-like wrapping all arrive at the same…

As winter tightens its grip, homeowners and building managers often notice an uptick in unwanted visitors congregating in and around furnace rooms — and Magnolia Furnace Rooms are no exception. These spaces, designed to concentrate heat and mechanical systems, unintentionally create an ideal microenvironment for a variety of pests. In December, when outdoor temperatures fall,…

As the rainy, windier months arrive in Rainier Beach, now is the ideal time to give your attic a careful check before peak winter weather sets in. Attics are the first line of defense against heat loss, ice dams and moisture intrusion — problems that feel small in autumn but can become costly and damaging…

As December settles over Meadowbrook, homeowners often turn their attention inward — sealing windows, tuning furnaces, and layering up against the cold. But the crawl space beneath many homes can become a quiet battleground this time of year, where pests seek warmth, food, and shelter. A worm-eaten insulation panel, a faint, persistent musky odor, or…

South Lake Union’s mix of waterfront infrastructure, light industrial sites, restaurants and dense office development creates an unusual urban ecosystem — one in which shipping areas and docks play an outsized role in local pest dynamics. As temperatures fall, the behavior and visibility of cockroaches in these spaces changes in predictable but important ways. What…