Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

Previously, we conducted a thorough inspection of a homeowners attic in Howell, NJ and reached the conclusion that it was under-insulated. We brought this to the homeowner's attention and, after thinking about for a little while, wanted Cowleys to add cellulose blown-in insulation in his attic. 

Blown-in cellulose insulation is used to fill the attic to the recommended insulation levels. The blanket of insulation will create a thermal barrier and help keep the home more comfortable and efficient. Cellulose also has higher R-value than other insulation and instantly improves home energy performance. Our cellulose insulation is treated with non-toxic borate, giving it the highest Class-1 fire safety rating and creating incredible resistance to mold and pests. Not only does cellulose insulation efficiently optimize energy-usage, but it is made primarily from recycled newspaper, making it the perfect choice for environmentally conscious property owners.

Once we arrived, we re-inspected the attic and then began adding approximately 10 inches of blown-in cellulose insulation. Now the home has an extra layer of insulation to prevent against heat loss. 

We were sent out on a service call for a new Home Protection Plan customer in Howell, NJ to treat for hornets . When we arrived, we inspected the back deck, which is where the owner saw them, and found that the hornets nest was located right above an outlet! For treatment, we injected a knockdown dusting application directly into the nest. This application rapidly eliminates the hornets. A short while later, we removed the nest, disposed of it, and applied a residual application to the area to neutralize any returning hornets and prevent them from building a new nest.

After hearing some odd noises in his attic in the late hours of the night, this customer in Howell, NJ called Little Rascals for some assistance and we were sent out. We had a sneaky suspicion that it was a raccoon that was walking around the attic and, after a thorough interior and exterior inspection, it was! How exactly did it get in the attic? Through the gable vent that was already damaged! Nuisance wildlife gaining access into a home through the gable vent isn't uncommon. Gable vents, over time, get weathered and start to become brittle and crack. Nuisance wildlife then take full advantage of this opportunity and make their way right into your home!

To safely retrieve the raccoon, we installed a positive set directly over the gable vent and then temporarily enclosed the area with hardware cloth. Additionally, we set up several baited devices nearby. A positive set is comprised of a nose cone that is attached to a two-gaited, heavy-duty device. The nose cone will safely guide the raccoon into the device. It's called a positive set, because we are positive that the raccoon will enter the device. As a matter of fact, a short while later, we safely retrieved the raccoon and relocated it to new humane environment.

Next, we disinfected the area and went back to our trucks to fashion a louvered gable vent. This material is made out of heavy-duty Galvannealed steel (which means it won't rust) and is customized to accommodate vents of all shapes and sizes! Once it was fashioned properly and to the right size, we then installed it over the gable vent. Now the gable vent is properly protected from raccoons as well as all nuisance wildlife!

April showers bring May flowers, including heavy rains into crawl spaces! Recently, we received a call from a homeowner in Farmingdale, NJ who had an issue with their crawl space. During heavy rainfall, their crawl space kept getting flooded and the sump pump wasn’t working properly. Not having a clean crawl space can have a major impact on your family’s health in so many ways. In fact, 40% of the air in your home comes up through the crawl space. This means that moisture, mold, dust, and pathogens can seep into your home, where you're breathing it in. Asthma or allergy symptoms could be a response to this. Once we arrived at the property, we put on our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), full-face respirator masks and began our inspection. After thoroughly inspecting the crawl space, we discussed with the homeowners what they needed. A crawl space encapsulation. 

Crawl space encapsulation eliminates moisture, prevents damage from moisture, keeps unwanted critters out, and saves you money on your utility bill. First, we removed all the debris out of the crawl space. Then we laid down drainage matting which will allow any water to work its way over to the sump pump. Once that was done we dug a hole to remove the old sump pump and installed the new sump pump. Then we filled the outside of the hole with stones to allow water to make its way into the sump pump. Finally, we lined the entire crawl space with a vapor barrier liner. The vapor barrier is a 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It's also treated with an antimicrobial finish that protects against mold and mildew growth. This vapor barrier is made-to-take-a-beating and is puncture and tear-resistant. Now the homeowner will no longer worry about their crawl space getting flooded.

A homeowner in Hazlet contacted Cowleys after finding a mouse infestation in his basement. Once temperatures drop, mice and other overwintering pests try to make their way into our homes to shelter themselves from the harsh winter elements. 

Mice are nocturnal creatures that do their foraging in the dead of night, so they tend to stay out of sight. More often than not, you’ll notice signs of mice activity well before actually seeing one of these scampering pests. If you do see a mouse during the day, it may be a sign of a heavy infestation. The most common sign that you have a mouse problem is their small and dark droppings that they leave behind, often inside cupboard tops or along skirting. While mice and the size of their droppings are small, the quantity of droppings is a whole different story — a single mouse can produce upwards of 70 droppings a day! Mice also leave behind hairs, rub marks along regularly traveled routes, and track footprints in dusty places. Besides their droppings, other signs are smells (the ammonia-like smell of urine and the stench of a dead rotting mouse carcass are particularly pungent), and scratching noises, which often heard at night when they are moving about.  In addition, you may find easy-to-shred nesting materials and track footprints in dusty places.

Whenever I am dispatched to resolve a mouse infestation, after talking to the homeowner to get an idea of where the creatures are nesting and harboring, I first perform a thorough inspection. During the inspection, I meticulously do an inch-by-inch inspection of the interior and exterior perimeter of the home in order to find possible access points. Mice entry points can be easily overlooked and are a challenge to locate — they only need an opening about the size of a dime to squeeze their way inside. My inspection includes checking all of the utility lines and pipes entering the home to ensure sealed tight and that their are no gaps. With this particular job, even after re-tracking my steps at least three times, I could not find a single possible entry point around the foundation. From my early pest control days, I knew that a common access point was the garage door area. I checked the garage and the weather strips and garage door jams were perfectly intact. Finally, I checked around the home’s siding. And bingo - I found a very obvious entry point that would lead the mice into the garage, and from the garage into the basement. 

I sealed the gap in the siding. In the basement’s interior, I placed RTU bait stations that automatically lock once a rodent enters, and placed LP (low profile) bait stations around the exterior of home along with a dozen snap traps. I was confident that this internal-external trapping arrangement would capture most of the mice, if they were still around. After a three day follow-up, I returned to the home. No mouse activity was found other than a deer mouse caught in a snap trap. 

Two weeks later, I followed up once again, and still there was no activity. At this point, there was no longer an active infestation and mice were not gaining access into the home. I told the homeowner to always be on the lookout for mice activity, and if there was a problem, we’d be back to handle it. Mice infestations are not a one visit and your done problem. You often need to set additional traps and re-inspect, so it may take a few visits by the pest control tech to make sure that these pests are out of your home for good.