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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 —…

Seattle lawns face a familiar spring threat: white grubs — the C-shaped larvae of various scarab beetles (May/June beetles, chafer species and others) — that feed on grassroots and weaken turf just as lawn growth resumes. In the Puget Sound region, our cool, moist winters and variable springs can allow grub populations to persist and…

Root weevils are one of the most persistent and frustrating insect pests for home gardeners across the Pacific Northwest. Several species (for example, black vine weevil and related Otiorhynchus species) attack a wide range of ornamentals, berries and container-grown plants. Adults chew semicircular notches from leaf margins at night, while the larvae — legless, C-shaped…

Spider mites are tiny arachnids, barely visible to the naked eye, that feed by piercing plant cells and sucking out the contents. On houseplants they cause characteristic stippling, pale or bronzed leaves, fine webbing and, in severe cases, leaf drop. While these pests can appear any time of year, many Seattle houseplant owners notice them…

Spring bloom is the most critical and vulnerable time in the life of a fruit tree. In Seattle’s cool, maritime climate—characterized by damp, mild springs—blossoms and newly emerging leaves are especially susceptible to both insect pests and disease. Damage during bloom doesn’t just mar appearance: anything that chews, sucks, or infects flowers can directly reduce…

Late spring in Seattle is an exciting time for vegetable gardeners: the soil has warmed enough to set out hardy seedlings, long daylight hours speed growth, and the promise of summer harvests feels close. That same mild, moist climate that makes the Pacific Northwest ideal for many cool-season crops is also perfect for a handful…

Aphids are one of the most persistent pests in Pacific Northwest gardens: they reproduce quickly on the tender new growth of vegetables, ornamentals and fruit trees and can transmit plant viruses. Fortunately, many gardeners can keep aphid populations in check not by spraying, but by encouraging the insects and birds that eat them. Lady beetles,…

Aphids are among the most common pests in gardens and farms: tiny, sap-sucking insects that reproduce rapidly, stunt growth, deform new leaves and flowers, and transmit plant viruses. Left unchecked, they can quickly overwhelm ornamentals, vegetables and fruit trees. The instinctive response—reach for a strong insecticide—can be tempting, but many of the broad-spectrum chemicals that…