Blog

When you spot a trail of ants across the kitchen counter in May, it’s natural to want a fast, definitive fix. Ant baits are one of the most commonly recommended solutions because they exploit ants’ social behavior: foragers take poisoned bait back to the nest, share it through trophallaxis, and (ideally) the active ingredient is…

As Seattle moves out of the chill of winter into the milder, wetter days of late spring, many homeowners notice a small but persistent problem: trails of tiny ants marching across countertops and vanishing into cracks around the sink. “Sugar ants” is a catch‑all term people use for ants attracted to sweets and carbohydrates, and…

May is prime swarming season for many flying insects that infest homes, and two of the most commonly confused are carpenter ant swarmers and termite swarmers. Both are winged reproductive individuals that leave their colonies to mate and establish new nests, and spotting a swarm—or piles of discarded wings—around your windows or light fixtures can…

Every spring, many homeowners and naturalists across the Pacific Northwest notice a sudden, dramatic event: clouds of winged ants rising from cracks, stumps and tree cavities and drifting toward streetlights and porch bulbs. These swarms are not random infestations but the species’ carefully timed reproductive flights — nuptial flights — when mature carpenter ant colonies…

In Seattle’s temperate, often-wet climate, wasps are a familiar part of the urban ecosystem — and homeowners frequently notice their nests on porches, eaves, in attics, and among the trees that line many neighborhoods. But wasp nest placement is not random. Species such as paper wasps, yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets each have distinct preferences driven…

If you’ve noticed delicate, pot‑shaped mud nests tucked under eaves, porch ceilings, or the undersides of garden furniture in Seattle, you’re seeing the work of mud daubers — a group of solitary wasps that look and behave very differently from the more familiar paper wasps, yellowjackets, or hornets. Unlike those social species that build communal…

Finding a wasp nest in May is a common springtime problem — and one you’ll want to deal with sooner rather than later. In many temperate regions May marks the beginning of the colony-building season: a single queen has been working since early spring to establish a nest, and what you see now is often…

Every summer, many Seattle homeowners notice a familiar and unwelcome pattern: the same wasp species — sometimes even the same nest site — appears year after year. That persistence isn’t mere coincidence. In the Pacific Northwest’s mild, wet climate, the biology and behavior of common local wasps (paper wasps, yellowjackets, bald-faced hornets, and solitary species…

In the gardens, meadows and woodland edges of the Pacific Northwest, a casual glance at a blooming salal, camas patch or backyard fruit tree can reveal a busy world of insect visitors — primarily bees and wasps. To the untrained eye they may look similar: both can be yellow and black, both hover and visit…

There’s nothing quite like the smell of charcoal and the sound of laughter at a backyard BBQ—until a wasp appears and sends everyone scattering. Wasps are attracted to the same things that make outdoor gatherings enjoyable: sweet drinks, uncovered food, and sheltered seating. While a few wasps can be merely annoying, larger numbers or accidental…