08/18/2026
When Wildfire Changes the Neighborhood—for Wildlife Too
Wildfire changes a landscape in ways that don't end when the flames are out.
We understandably think first about the people, homes, businesses, and communities affected by fire. But the same landscape was also home to countless wild animals—and when that habitat changes, wildlife has to adapt.
After the amount of ground that has burned around our region this summer, that's something homeowners in and around affected areas may begin noticing.
And with fall approaching—a time when many animals are already moving around and looking for food and shelter—we may see wildlife activity in some unusual places.
The Fire Didn't Create More Wildlife. It Changed Where Wildlife Can Live.
This is an important distinction.
A wildfire doesn't suddenly create more mice, marmots, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, snakes, or other wildlife.
Instead, fire can remove or alter the things those animals depended upon: cover, food, water, nesting areas and denning locations.
Some animals survive within the burned area. Some leave during the fire and eventually return. Others may move into neighboring areas looking for suitable habitat.
That means properties outside the actual burn area may notice changes too.
If your neighborhood borders thousands of acres of recently burned habitat, wildlife doesn't recognize your property line. An irrigated lawn, garden, outbuilding, rock wall, deck, crawlspace, woodpile, bird feeder or source of water may suddenly be much more attractive than it was before.
Your Home May Be Exactly the Same. Its Surroundings Aren't.
Imagine a rural home that has stood for decades without significant wildlife problems.
There were always better options around it.
Plenty of natural cover. Plenty of places to den. Plenty of food and water.
Now imagine much of that surrounding habitat has burned while the house and immediate property remain intact.
Nothing about the house changed.
Everything around it did.
That doesn't mean wildlife is inevitably going to move into the structure. But it does mean a vulnerability that never mattered before might matter now.
A damaged crawlspace vent.
A gap beneath a deck.
An opening beneath a shed.
A loose section of siding.
A hole beneath a concrete slab.
An accessible attic or roof opening.
Those conditions may have existed for years without causing a problem simply because nothing had much reason to use them.
Changing the surrounding habitat can change that equation.
Seeing More Wildlife Doesn't Automatically Mean You Have a Problem
This is equally important.
Not every animal that appears on your property needs to be trapped.
If you've never seen a particular animal in your yard before and suddenly one walks through, that doesn't necessarily make it a nuisance animal.
It may simply be passing through.
Give wildlife space. Keep pets away from unfamiliar animals. Don't leave food out for them, and don't attempt to capture an animal simply because it showed up somewhere unexpected.
There's an important difference between wildlife on your property and wildlife causing a problem on your property.
An animal passing through the backyard is one thing.
An animal establishing a den beneath your foundation, entering the crawlspace, damaging the structure, or repeatedly returning because it has found a dependable food source is another.
That's when intervention may become appropriate.
This Is a Good Time to Look at Your Property Differently
For properties near affected areas, one of the best things you can do right now is simply take a look around.
Check crawlspace vents and access doors.
Look beneath decks, sheds and outbuildings.
Watch for new excavation around foundations and concrete.
Look for openings around the roofline.
Secure garbage, pet food, chicken feed and birdseed.
Pick up fallen fruit and eliminate unnecessary food sources.
Pay attention to new tracks, droppings, digging or other signs of activity.
You don't need to turn your home into a fortress.
You just need to recognize that conditions around it may have changed.
Sometimes an Inspection Is All You Need
Wildlife control doesn't always need to begin with traps.
Tahoma Specialty Pest Services also provides wildlife inspections and consultations.
If you're near a burned area and aren't sure whether your property has vulnerabilities, I can inspect the structure and surrounding property, identify potential entry points or attractants, and help determine whether anything actually needs to be done.
Sometimes I'll find something that should be corrected.
Sometimes the recommendation may simply be to keep an eye on an area.
And sometimes I'll tell you there's nothing worth worrying about.
The point of an inspection isn't to find something I can sell you.
It's to find out whether there's actually a problem—or a realistic opportunity for one to develop.
What About Insects?
Wildfire can change insect activity too, although not always in the ways people might expect.
Some insects are displaced or decline after a fire, while others actually specialize in recently burned or fire-damaged habitat. Certain wood-boring beetles, for example, can locate stressed and freshly burned trees using smoke-related chemical cues—and some fire-associated beetles can even detect infrared radiation from fires.
It's fascinating biology, but it doesn't mean a wave of insects is necessarily headed for nearby homes.
The more useful takeaway is simply that fire changes the entire ecosystem, and insect activity and pressure can change along with everything else.
The Landscape Has Changed. Pay Attention to What Changes With It.
The amount of land burned around our region this year has been significant, and we're probably going to be seeing some of the ecological effects for quite a while.
Some wildlife will return to burned areas.
Some will establish themselves somewhere else.
Some may show up in places where homeowners have rarely—or never—seen them before.
Most of those encounters won't require pest control.
But when wildlife begins using a home or structure for shelter, knowing about vulnerabilities before an animal establishes itself can make the situation considerably easier to manage.
So if you live near one of this year's burned areas, don't panic about every critter that wanders through your yard.
Just pay attention.
Their neighborhood changed too.
Tahoma Specialty Pest Services
Spokane & the Inland Northwest
509-978-7830
tahomapest.com
