Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

This homeowner in Kendall Park, NJ kept hearing noises in his upstairs bathroom and was concerned that something was living inside his home, so he called Little Rascals for help. Once we arrived and began inspecting the property, we spotted some squirrels going in and out of a vent on the side of the home. Looks like the homeowner has a squirrel problem. We informed the owner who mentioned that the vent is old and use to connect to the bathroom.

We temporarily enclosed the area with hardware cloth, installed a one-way device in front of the exhaust vent, and set up several baited traps nearby. The one-way will allow the squirrel to safely leave the attic, but prevent them from getting back in. A short while later, we successfully retrieved the squirrels and relocated them to a new, humane location.  Additionally, we disinfected the area and installed a DryerWallVent®. The DryerWallVent® is made out of heavy-duty galvanized steel and its large opening and angled damper provide maximum airflow efficiency for safe venting. Integrated magnets keep the damper closed when not in use, preventing squirrels, birds, and all nuisance wildlife from infesting the home.

We were called out to a home in Monmouth Junction, NJ for a mouse exclusion. This particular home was overrun with mice. 

I replaced her crawl space door with an Everlast vent cover to make sure mice can not enter. These covers, which can be installed against wood framing or masonry, not only block insects and wildlife from entering the crawl space, they also block out humid mold-forming air and moisture from entering. These aesthetically pleasing covers are made with a hard durable plastic that stand up to the worst weather conditions, and unlike wood vents, are completely maintenance free. Even though these covers completely seal the vents, they are easy to open should you need to access your crawl space.  All you have to do is twist a few large knobs, and you’re in!  

With mice and other nuisance wildlife infestations, it is critical to find the potential entry points and seal them; otherwise, the infestation will never be permanently resolved. 

We carefully inspected the entire home, filling every hole we could locate with  spray foam. The before/after pictures highlight that the gaps that were once open are now closed off. During my inspection, I also noticed a large gap underneath the front door that would allow mice to enter. I installed rubber weather stripping to seal that potential route. 

After years and years of dealing with a humid & wet dirt-floor crawl space, this homeowner in Monmouth Junction, NJ decided it was time to change this and encapsulate his crawl space! After speaking with one of our sales reps and discussing various options, he decided on a plan and we went right to work!

First, we removed all the debris, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed drainage matting. This material is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the new sump pump we installed. Next, we installed a vapor barrier, which is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It's extremely durable, treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold, and is installed over the foundation walls and floor to create a continuous air and moisture barrier.

Afterward, we installed SilverGlo™ on the walls of the crawl space, which is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity. Lastly, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial-grade dehumidifier. The Sedona directs the extracted water pulled out of the air directly into the sump pump and will control the humidity levels in the crawl space.

These homeowners in Allentown, NJ  had a partial basement foundation, that is, part of the first floor living space was built over a basement while the remainder was built over a crawl space. Partial basements can also be split between a basement and partial slab on grade. We often find partial basements with homes that have an addition built onto the original structure, but homes are also built with a partial basement to save on some construction costs. It is more expensive to excavate and construct a full basement than it is to build a crawl space or lay down a concrete slab.

With this home’s partial basement the homeowner’s wanted a sturdy, permanent, more aesthetically pleasing solution to separate these two foundation areas. They periodically had problems with insects, mice, and other pests in the basement area that were getting inside their home through the crawl space. In residential construction, crawl spaces are often considered to be the “black sheep” of a home. They often cause a lot of problems for the rest of the home, including pest infestations, water and moisture issues, and mold growth. Since crawl spaces are rarely visited, these “out of sight, out of mind” problems can fester for years before they become serious enough for a homeowner to take notice.

The homeowners contacted Cowleys since we have a specialized division dedicated to waterproofing and encapsulating problem crawl spaces, and they thought we could help. And they were right!  We came out to inspect the home, and recommended a quick, cost-effective solution that would work perfectly. We replaced the hardware cloth (which wasn’t really even a barrier at all between the two areas) with a customized Everlast door. These Everlast covers are usually installed on the outdoor entry point into the crawl space to completely block outside air and moisture from entering the crawl space. However, it worked perfectly here to separate the two sections of this home’s foundation. Made with a hard durable plastic, these doors can be installed against wood framing or masonry. They stand up to the worst weather conditions, and are completely maintenance-free. They are made out of a material that is impervious to water and any outdoor elements, so they will rot, warp, or crack and, unlike wood, they never need to be painted. From our experience, they are virtually indestructible. 

For these homeowners, this door did just the trick. They were pleased with our solution to their problem and our quick installation. The homeowners thanked us, and my partner and I were off to help our next customer!