With the colder months of winter approaching, many pests will look for warm places to shelter, and it’s quite possible that the top 5 winter pests in the Pacific NW will find your home to be one of those places. Inside our homes, pests can find warmth and shelter from the winter elements along with possible food and water making it a great winter habitat.
PNW Rats
Rats are scavengers by nature which makes them less finicky compared to other pests. They have been known to eat just about anything and they can certainly chew through just about anything. In the wild, rats live in dens that provide shelter from the winter cold. In urban areas, however, rats need to find other spaces to get out of the cold weather. This is namely why they live in places like sewers where they can live unexposed to the elements.
The city sewers, of course, are just one place rats will choose to live. Rats can live anywhere from sheds, wood piles, vehicles, in underground burrows and in your crawlspace to name just a few. Where they choose to live will be dependent on their food and water sources as well as what is easily accessible to them. If they have entered your home without much fuss this will be an attractant to them as they can smell that food is nearby and notice all the available materials needed to shelter and build nests making it a prime location.
PNW Mice
Mice are similar to rats in that they too will seek shelter from the cold inside your home. For the same reasons as rats, mice need a warm place to shelter and nest as well as food and water nearby. In the wild, mice will burrow underground or nest somewhere on the surface. This is why they prefer dense vegetation which provides protection from both the elements and predators.
Mice can easily adapt to life near human habitation because everything they need is at their disposal. Since mice are small, it’s also easy for them to get inside homes and other structures and they can often go unnoticed since they hide in darker recesses of a home. That is of course until they start chewing holes through food packages looking for food.
PNW Ticks
Most people wouldn’t think about ticks as being intrusive pests as they are more commonly found in forested or grassy areas when people are outside or have their pets outside in these areas. Unfortunately, enjoyingthe great outdoors in the Pacific NW is not the only way you can come across ticks.
Rodents are carriers of ticks, especially deer mice, which are prevalent in the Pacific NW. If rodents are getting inside your home, it’s possible that they are carrying these pests with them. Since rodents are social creatures, ticks have all the food sources they need within the population of existing rodents. As rodents feed and breed so will the ticks and that means that you can have multiple infestations on your hands. Until the rodents are cleared from the building ticks will continue to overpopulate the same space.
PNW Spiders
Much of the time, spiders keep to themselves and stay outside. However, since they are cold-blood arthropods they do require warmth during the winter in order to survive the season. This means that they will gravitate towards areas that produce heat like our homes. Spiders that remain outside will find places like piles of leaves or crevices in rocks to protect them from harsh winter elements.
Spiders do have the ability to slow down their system called diapause or cold-hardening internally. This is a chemical transformation that happens in their bodies so they can endure colder temperatures. When the sun comes out or temperatures rise enough during the cold winter they will come out to hunt for food and then retreat back to their shelter.
If they find their way inside your home for the winter they will mostly be a nuisance. Some spiders, like the brown recluse, can pose a threat if they are encountered, however. Most of the time these spiders go unseen as they hide in dark spaces that are uninterrupted. Since they hide in places that are not frequently used, encounters with these spiders come as a surprise and an unfortunate one at that since their bite can cause an ulcerous wound that can take months to heal.
PNW Termites
These pests are often seen as spring and summer pests because this is when they are visually noticed. Contrary to this thinking, termites are active all year round even when they go unnoticed. This means that they can easily be living within your home while they eat away at the wood within your structure.
A termite infestation within your home may not be recognizable until you have a professional come out to survey your property. Pest technicians have a keen eye for what to look for that most overlook. Since termites can be so destructive it’s important that suspicion of termites in your home is looked at to prevent further damage and unwanted costs.
No one wants winter pests inhabiting their living space during the winter in the Pacific NW or any other season. If you do notice these pests or signs of them in or around your home be sure to call your local pest control company to come out for an inspection. It’s always better to be safe than have regrets later if there happens to be an infestation.
