This is the latest installment of Pittsburgh Pests, an occasional series examining the insects and other creatures that pose health risks in our region.

If this fall feels a little warmer than usual, you might not be the only one enjoying it.

Local pests — from ticks and mosquitoes to ants and rats — are also thriving in the longer summers and milder winters creeping into Western Pennsylvania.

That’s not just a nuisance.

“People so often think of any pest, whether it be a cockroach or house mouse or mosquito or tick, as kind of a nuisance or maybe kind of gross, right?” said Jim Fredericks, entomologist and senior vice president of public affairs at the National Pest Management Association, based in Fairfax, Va.

“But there are actually real-life health impacts, whether it's West Nile

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