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Flea bites and bed bug bites are commonly confused because both produce itchy red bumps, but they come from very different insects with different habits — and those differences are usually the best clues for identification. Fleas are tiny jumping parasites that live on animals (especially household pets) and tend to bite lower body areas…

A flea infestation can feel small at first—one itchy bite, a few tiny jumping specks on your pet—but it can quickly become a household crisis. Because fleas reproduce rapidly and their eggs and larvae hide in carpets, upholstery, and cracks, what starts as a problem on a single dog or cat can spread through an…

As spring settles over the Pacific Northwest and temperatures nudge consistently above the 50°F mark, May is when flea activity typically ramps up in Seattle. While the city’s cool, wet reputation might suggest otherwise, fleas thrive in warm, sheltered microclimates—under decks, in leaf litter, and inside heated homes—so a mild Seattle spring can quickly become…

Bed bugs are persistently stubborn pests that have re-emerged as a major public-health nuisance in homes, hotels and multiunit housing worldwide. Because these insects hide deep in seams, cracks and furnishings and can survive for months without feeding, deciding how to treat an infestation is often a complex trade-off between speed, completeness of elimination, cost,…

Bed bugs are small, nocturnal pests that can turn a comfortable hotel stay into a weeks‑long headache. Because they are expert hitchhikers—crawling into luggage, clothing and personal items—they can travel from one location to another without you knowing. Checking a hotel room for bed bugs before unpacking is a simple precaution that greatly reduces the…

Travel in May often brings warmer weather, more people on the move, and a greater chance of picking up unwanted hitchhikers like bed bugs. These tiny, nocturnal insects hide in seams, crevices and luggage and are particularly adept at traveling from hotels, trains or vacation rentals into homes. After a May trip, being able to…

If you’ve discovered bed bugs in Seattle in 2026, one of the first questions after shock and planning is practical: how much will it cost to get rid of them? There’s no single number, because pricing depends on the size and severity of the infestation, the treatment method chosen, the property type (studio, multi-bedroom house,…

Every May, as the weather warms and travel picks up for long weekends, conferences and the start of the summer season, Seattle households face a subtle but real uptick in bed bug introductions. Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers: they cling to luggage, clothing, backpacks and used furniture and move easily from hotels, short‑term rentals and…

Seattle’s mild, maritime climate and abundance of flowering ornamental trees make the city an inviting place for tent caterpillars and related web-making caterpillars. These insects—commonly called tent caterpillars (Malacosoma spp.) and sometimes confused with fall webworms (Hyphantria cunea)—build conspicuous silk “tents” in forks and branches and can defoliate cherries, apples, crabapples, hawthorns, and many other…

Seattle’s gardens are famous for their lush rhododendrons and azaleas, but the same mild, wet climate that helps those broad-leaved evergreens thrive also creates ideal conditions for a small, persistent pest: rhododendron lace bugs. These sap-sucking insects are easy to underestimate when you first spot a few pale stipples on leaves, but by May —…