Blog

When West Seattle gets hit with heavy rains, the problem is more than wet basements and clogged gutters — it’s also prime time for cockroaches to move indoors. The Pacific Northwest’s damp, temperate climate combined with aging houses, close-set urban lots and occasional storm-driven sewer or storm drain backups creates abundant moisture and hiding places…

Every spring and fall, homeowners and property managers in Madison Valley start noticing a small but unmistakable uptick in ant activity — and this month is no exception. Moisture ants, a group of species that prefer damp, decaying wood and wet soil, have been drawn into yards, crawlspaces and landscaped beds as localized wet pockets…

Living in the University District brings the conveniences of campus life—short commutes, lively streets, and a mix of historic and newer rental housing—but it also means adjusting to the rhythms of urban wildlife. One common seasonal surprise for tenants and property managers alike is an uptick in spider sightings as temperatures drop. Rather than meaning…

Rodent infestations in attics are more than an unwelcome nuisance — they can create a complex restoration project that affects a home’s health, safety, and long-term integrity. In properties where magnolia trees or similar landscaping provide easy access to the roofline, rodents commonly exploit overhanging branches, damaged soffits, and gaps around vents to gain entry….

There are few images as quintessentially Victorian as a Queen Anne home—steeply pitched roofs, turned spindles, ornate trim, and graceful curved gutters that follow bay windows and turrets. Those same architectural flourishes that make Queen Anne houses so charming also create a complex network of nooks and ledges where leaves, seed heads, twigs and other…

December brings holiday cheer to Downtown Seattle — crowded hotels, packed transit, extra visitors and packages — but it also raises the risk that unwelcome hitchhikers will arrive with you: bed bugs. Although these insects are not seasonal in the strict sense, the travel and social patterns of the holidays create more opportunities for bed…

If you own a home in Laurelhurst, you already know this neighborhood’s charms — mature trees, classic craftsman and mid‑century homes, and a climate that keeps yards lush most of the year. That same damp, leafy setting, however, can also hide a subtle and persistent threat: moisture ants. Unlike large, dramatic invaders, these small, secretive…

Rats in crawl spaces are one of those slow-burning home problems that can quickly escalate from a nuisance to a costly hazard — and for homeowners in West Seattle, the combination of older houses, abundant green space, and a wet climate makes crawl-space invasions a common seasonal problem. Rats are attracted to the shelter, warmth,…

The holidays bring a steady stream of visitors to Capitol Hill condos — family arriving for celebrations, out-of-town friends coming in for the ball drop, and neighbors stopping by for a last-minute toast. Those welcome footsteps can also mean unwelcome guests if you haven’t taken steps to pest-proof your home. Capitol Hill’s mix of historic…

Ballard’s mild, wet winters create near-ideal conditions for carpenter ants to move from outdoor nests into the warm, protected cavities of homes and buildings. Unlike termites, carpenter ants don’t eat wood for nutrition, but they carve extensive galleries in damp or decayed timber to build their nests — and once established inside a structure, a…