Pest Library

Mosquitoes are the uninvited guests of every Michigan summer evening. They breed in standing water, birdbaths, gutters, puddles, and buzz around at dusk looking for their next meal. Besides the itchy bites, they’re known carriers of illnesses like West Nile virus, making them more than just a backyard bother.

Ticks thrive in Michigan’s wooded trails, tall grass, and leaf piles, places you and your pets love to explore. These tiny parasites latch onto skin to feed and can transmit serious illnesses like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Once they’re in your yard or home, they’re hard to spot and even harder to ignore.

Bed bugs are the hitchhikers of the pest world. They slip into homes on luggage, furniture, or clothing, then vanish into mattresses and baseboards. These nighttime feeders leave behind itchy welts and restless sleep. They’re stealthy, stubborn, and perfectly suited to cozy Michigan bedrooms, apartment buildings, and hotels.

Fleas are jumpy little hitchhikers that treat your pets like an Uber and your carpet like a buffet. Even when the temperature outside cools down, they may remain inside for hours, thriving in the hot and muggy summers of Michigan. Their little but powerful bites may itch, annoy, and even be hazardous to pets and humans.

Cockroaches have honed their ability to remain hidden in the shadows thanks to their adapted biology. Typical entry points in older Michigan structures include sewers, walls, and cardboard boxes. Whether it’s the massive American roach or the nimble German roach, roaches spread disease and negativity wherever they go.

Yellow jackets are aggressive stingers that become especially active in late summer and early fall. They build nests underground, in wall voids, or under eaves. Drawn to sugary drinks and food, they often crash picnics and patios, stinging repeatedly when provoked. In Michigan, their numbers swell just as outdoor gatherings peak.

Carpenter ants excavate wood to build their nests. That makes them a quiet threat to Michigan homes, especially older structures with damp or decaying wood. You might spot them wandering in search of food, but the real damage is done out of sight, where they tunnel into beams, walls, and insulation.

Furry invaders with an eye for warmth and a knack for discovering cracks in the defenses are known as rodents. When the weather turns cold in Michigan, rodents like mice and rats seek refuge in homes’ crawl spaces, attics, and garages. They may transmit illness via their droppings or urine and devour wire like it’s candy.