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February is a tricky month for Columbia City homeowners: winter’s deep chill keeps many pests dormant outdoors, but it also pushes others inside where warmth, food and moisture are more readily available. Even though temperatures are still generally low, February is a transitional month—brief warm spells, melting snow and wet conditions around foundations can awaken…

Beneath Seattle’s rainy streets and tucked under its hills lies a hidden city of concrete and pipe that does more than move water: it sustains wildlife. For rats — primarily Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) — the sewer system is a year-round refuge that provides warmth, shelter and a steady pipeline of food. Each late winter,…

Even in the dead of winter, Greenwood homeowners are all too familiar with the unwelcome signs of pests: gnawed wires in the basement, droppings in kitchen corners, mysterious creaks in attic insulation, or the sudden discovery of a mouse darting across the floor. February often feels like the height of winter, but for many pests…

As winter lingers into February, Phinney Ridge homeowners should be alert to early warning signs that rodents are moving into or around homes. This neighborhood’s older craftsman houses, tree-lined streets, nearby green spaces and alleyways create welcoming habitat for mice and rats; cold, wet weather and reduced outdoor food availability often push rodents to seek…

Every late winter, homeowners in Lake City begin to notice an uptick in tiny footprints, chewed cardboard, and the telltale scrapings in attics and walls. That surge in mouse activity just before spring isn’t random — it’s the predictable result of mouse biology intersecting with local environmental conditions and human behavior. Understanding why mice move…

February sits at a tipping point in the Pacific Northwest calendar. In Seattle, a month that historically brings cool, wet conditions and the occasional hard freeze, average highs hover around 47°F (8°C) and lows near 36°F (2°C). Those borderline temperatures make February a critical gauntlet for overwintering pests: prolonged cold and frosts can kill eggs,…

Late winter is a deceptively busy time for pests in Ravenna homes. After months of hunkering down in protected crevices, many insects and rodents start moving again as daylight lengthens and temperatures fluctuate. Even when snow still blankets yards, warm pockets inside houses, basements, crawl spaces and attics become magnets for wildlife and insects looking…

As winter turns toward spring, many expect rodent activity to drop off as temperatures fall — yet in Northgate, rats commonly remain active in and around neighborhood garages well into late winter. Garages offer an unusually accommodating combination of shelter, steady food sources, and thermal refuge that allows commensal rat species (principally Norway rats and…

Each year the late-winter “February thaw” — a stretch of milder weather that temporarily lifts temperatures above freezing — reshuffles the invisible boundaries between outdoor and indoor habitats. For people living and working in a dense, mixed-use neighborhood like the University District, that brief warm spell is more than a welcome break from cold: it…

Every late winter, many homeowners notice increased rodent activity around their magnolia trees — more rustling in the leaf litter, gnawed seed pods, and the occasional trail of droppings. That pattern isn’t coincidence. A combination of rodent biology, the physical characteristics of magnolias, and typical yard-management practices converge in late winter and early spring to…