Pumpkins on your porch In Washington? Watch out for furry critters

It seems like it's a tradition in almost every home in the Northwest, pumpkin carving in October. When I was a kid, my family did it. When I had kids, we did it. It's messy and kind of gooey, and fun. (Until it's time to clean up the mess.) Then you take the best of those pumpkins, and you put them on display in the house or out on the porch. 

But there's something to consider when you take that carved pumpkin and put it out on the porch. For a lot of furry critters in the Northwest, pumpkins are food, and this is the time of year when those furry critters are really hungry. 

According to tomsguide.com,
‘But while these might seem like harmless, decorative features to spruce up your porch, you might be unknowingly inviting unwanted visitors to your home. According to pest control experts, leaving out carved pumpkins can attract certain pests to your home. This is made even worse after they’ve been out for a long time, and start to decompose.’ 

The three main pests that you should be concerned about are rodents, squirrels, and fruit flies. Now, it's always important to eliminate things that attract rats and mice to your home, but we kind of forget about it when it's time to put that carved pumpkin on the porch. The same thing applies to squirrels. We think of squirrels, we think of nuts, right? Well, to paraphrase a famous quote, squirrels do not live by nuts alone. 

If you've ever had a fruit fly infestation in your garbage, you know you don't want it on your porch. 

The main thing is if you put pumpkins on the porch, keep an eye on them, watch for decomposition, and at some point, know when to throw them out. 

Now, if you're living in a metropolitan area. That's pretty much what you need to worry about, but if you're living out in the country, especially in the Hill Country, like Leavenworth, WA for instance. You might want to think about bears. Yes, bears of all types love pumpkins, and Leavenworth is sitting right at the base of mountain country, so it's not unusual for there to be at least one Black Bear sighting a year. 

Yes, I know that's not a black bear

So, you might want to reconsider leaving lunch on your porch for the local black bear. 

Another critter that you will probably never see on your porch but absolutely loves pumpkins is the hippopotamus. There are some great videos of hippopotami munching on pumpkins. 

The main thing to remember is just be safe. If you're going to carve pumpkins and display them on your porch, don't leave them out too long. Dispose of them probably before you think you need to, and be aware that if you live up in the hills, you're going to attract critters that are probably bigger than squirrels and mice. 

There are lots of places that have pumpkins for sale in the Wenatchee area, including Albertsons, Safeway and Costco. They got them big, they got them small, they got them, well, weird and lumpy. I showed a picture of some of these pumpkins to my daughter Beth, and she said she liked the one with the warts. 

Enjoy your pumpkin carving and for those of you that bake with pumpkins. I'll just say it, it's way easier when it comes out of the can. 

3 pests that your Halloween pumpkins can attract to your home | Tom's Guide