Is February a busy pest month in New Hampshire?

No. February carries three peak species, but two of them — cockroaches and squirrels — were already at that level in January, so nothing about them is new this month. The one genuine change is raccoons moving into the height of their mating season, which is a real event but a narrow one. Outdoors, the ground is still frozen and nothing is entering the house from outside, so the honest read on February is quiet, not busy.

Why does a raccoon in the attic matter more in February than in January?

Because February is when a pregnant female typically commits to and defends a specific den site, rather than simply searching for a mate the way raccoons do in January. That shift from wide-ranging activity to a defended den is why the noise tends to get louder and more concentrated this month. It's also the last practical window to address a denning raccoon before her kits arrive in spring, when removal becomes a far more sensitive problem.

Why doesn't your calendar list Boxelder Bugs or Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs as February pests?

Because our own legacy page did, and it wasn't accurate. Both species are fall invaders that entered structures the previous autumn and are spending winter dormant in wall voids. UNH Extension notes they may stir briefly on an unusually warm, sunny day, but that's last fall's arrivals waking up temporarily, not a February population doing anything new. Listing them as this month's pests overstated what's actually happening.

Are cockroaches and squirrels new to February, since they're both at peak?

No — that's the point of separating this calendar's bands. Both species already reached this same activity level in January and have simply held it into February. German cockroaches breed year-round in a heated home regardless of the season outside, and squirrels remain in a breeding peak that spans several winter months, not just this one. Three species at peak doesn't mean three new things happened; it means three things are currently at a high level, only one of which is new information this month.

Daniel Brady · NH-Licensed Pesticide Applicator · License #782664

|Reviewed by Daniel Brady

What Pests Are Actually Active in February in New Hampshire?

QuietAlmost nothing changed. That’s the answer, not a gap.

February is still deep-winter quiet in New Hampshire, and the one real change is upward, not down: raccoons move from active to peak as mating season reaches its height and pregnant females settle on den sites. Nothing turned down this month — the honest read is that nothing had far left to fall. Three species are technically at peak now (cockroaches, raccoons and squirrels), but two of them are simply continuing a level they already held in January. Outdoors, the pest year has not turned yet.

February at a glance

Species at peak: 3
Turned up: 1 newly active
Turned down: 0 winding down
The floor: 9 here year-round

~40°F
Adult blacklegged ticks still quest on any mild, snow-free February day above this temperature
UNH Cooperative Extension

Where in the year

You are here · February

A pest year has a shape. This strip is the whole of it — the season you’re in, the months on either side, and the one you’re reading now.

The New Hampshire pest year

WinterYou are here · Feb

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

This monthSame seasonOther months3 at peak this month

Previous monthJanuary Next monthMarch

The changelog

What changed in February

Not a list of seven pests re-served every month. A release log: what turned up, what wound down, what’s always here, and what isn’t here at all — 3 species at peak this month.

Turned up

newly active — more than last month

raccoonsPeak

Raccoon mating season reaches its height in February. This is when a pregnant female commits to a den site — often an attic, chimney or crawlspace — and defends it, which is why the commotion in the walls gets louder and more focused than January's wider searching.

Do this · If a raccoon is already denning, addressing it now — before kits arrive in spring — avoids the much harder problem of separating a mother from dependent young later.

Turned down

winding down — you can stop worrying

Nothing wound down this month.

The floor

here every month — not this month’s news

These nine are in and around New Hampshire homes every month of the year, February included. They are not February news, and any calendar that lists them as this month's pests is padding a list. We know, because ours did.

birds
Winter roosting continues in vents, eaves and chimneys; house sparrows begin early nest-scouting late this month, but that's a March story, not a February one.
cockroaches
German cockroaches breed continuously in a heated structure. Indoors, February is not meaningfully different from any other month.
fleas
Outdoor stages stay suppressed by cold, but fleas ride the host — an indoor pet keeps an indoor infestation running through winter.
mice
House mice remain concentrated in heated space, with nest-building activity at its own winter peak — an indoor story, not a new arrival.
moths
Pantry and clothes moths breed on stored food and fabric in a heated building — a climate they never have to leave.
opossum
Opossums stay active through winter rather than going dormant, though their own breeding season is just beginning as February ends.
rats
Norway rats continue sheltering and breeding in walls, basements and crawlspaces, unaffected by outdoor cold.
squirrels
Squirrels remain at their first annual breeding peak, with litters being conceived or born this month in attic nest sites.
ticks
Adult blacklegged ticks quest on any mild, snow-free day above about 40°F — the same low-but-real winter risk as January.

Not here

our own old page said otherwise

Black Rat
Our old claim: Our own legacy calendar listed the Black Rat on all twelve months, usually first — including February.
The black rat (also called the roof or ship rat, Rattus rattus) is not established in New Hampshire. Its documented US range is warm and coastal — the lower East Coast, the Gulf States, the Pacific Coast and Hawaii — and in cooler regions it was displaced by the larger, more cold-tolerant Norway rat. We say not established rather than never recorded: isolated cargo introductions are documented elsewhere in the country, and we could not verify an occurrence count for this state. The honest claim is that there is no established population here.
Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management — roof rats (icwdm.org/species/rodents/roof-rats/); ScienceDirect — Rattus rattus displaced by Rattus norvegicus in temperate regions
What you actually have: The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). If you have a rat in New Hampshire in February, that's the one, sheltering indoors through the cold.
Boxelder Bugs
Our old claim: Our own legacy calendar listed Boxelder Bugs on all twelve months, including February.
Boxelder bugs are a fall-invader, spring-emergence species, dormant in wall voids through the winter. Legacy February also named the brown marmorated stink bug on the same logic — both are the previous fall's overwintering adults, not reproducing, occasionally stirring on a sunny day. Neither is a February population, new or otherwise.
UNH Cooperative Extension — boxelder bug fact sheet (extension.unh.edu/resource/boxelder-bug-fact-sheet)

The bottom line — a quiet month

The quiet month — 3 species at peak, and one of them just arrived there

If a raccoon is going to move into your attic this year, February is when she picks it — before the kits arrive.

The calendar behind the calendar

Seasonal anchors

The sourced New Hampshire dates and thresholds that actually move the pest year — frost, moratoria, surveillance windows.

01
February is the height of New Hampshire's raccoon mating season, and the month pregnant females typically settle into a birthing den.
Wildlife denning activity noticed in an attic or chimney this month is breeding behavior already underway, not a new problem — and it is the last easy window to address it before kits are born in spring.
NH Fish and Game — nuisance wildlife (wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nuisance-wildlife)

The full picture

February, in plain terms

The one real change is upward

February's turned-up column has exactly one entry, and it's the same species as January's: raccoons. But the change inside that entry matters. January was wide-ranging mate-searching; February is a pregnant female committing to a specific den site and defending it, which is why the noise in an attic tends to get louder and more localized this month rather than fading.

Nothing turned down, and that is not a gap — it means nothing had far left to fall in the first place. The pest year in New Hampshire has not turned yet.

Three peak species, one genuinely new

Cockroaches and squirrels are both at peak again this month, exactly as they were in January — continuing a level, not reaching a new one. Raccoons are the one species where "peak" is actually new information this month, arriving at the height of mating season. That distinction is the whole reason this page separates what changed from what is simply always here, instead of listing three peak species and calling February busy.

The short version

Key takeaways

01Only raccoons turned up, moving from active mating activity in January to a full mating peak in February.
02Nothing turned down this month — deep winter had not left anything further to wind down.
03Cockroaches and squirrels are both at peak, but neither is new; both held that level in January too.
04The old calendar's Black Rat and Boxelder Bugs listings don't belong on this page.

A raccoon settling into an attic this month?

February is the last easy window before kits arrive in spring. We serve southern and central New Hampshire from Manchester.

Get a Free Inspection (603) 785-0118

Common questions

Follow-up questions

The other half of this calendar

Already know what you’re dealing with?

This page is month-first — it answers “what changed in February?” Every species named here also has a species-first page in the timing guide: the same sourced facts, the full year, one species at a time. If you already know what you’re dealing with, that’s the faster route.

NH-licensed applicator · #782664
Same-day service
Family-owned since 2017

Jump to a species

Sources & references

NH Fish and Game — nuisance wildlife
Raccoon and squirrel denning behavior and winter breeding season handling in New Hampshire
stateverified 2026-07-17
UNH Cooperative Extension — biology and management of ticks in New Hampshire
Adult blacklegged ticks quest above ~40°F without snow cover, even in winter
extensionverified 2026-07-17
Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management — roof rats
Roof rat (Rattus rattus) US range is warm/coastal; displaced by Norway rat in cooler regions
extensionverified 2026-07-17
UNH Cooperative Extension — boxelder bug fact sheet
Boxelder bugs and related overwintering invaders remain dormant indoors through winter
extensionverified 2026-07-17

Editorial disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute pest control or medical advice. Every property is unique — consult a licensed professional for guidance specific to your situation. Anchor Pest Services is licensed in New Hampshire (#782664).

Written & reviewed by

Verified

Daniel Brady

NH-Licensed Pesticide Applicator · License #782664 (NHDAMF, RSA 430)

Daniel Brady is the New Hampshire–licensed applicator behind Anchor Pest Services, a family-owned pest control company serving the Manchester area since 2017.

Verify license

Last updated Jul 2026

Still a quiet month — one real exception

Address a denning raccoon before spring litters arrive

A raccoon found now is a simpler problem than one found with kits present. Same-day service available across southern and central NH.