Pests We Treat Before & After Photos

As this elderly homeowner in South Bound Brook, NJ was walking around the exterior of his home, he discovered a HUGE bald-faced hornets nest in one the bushes! He ran inside and called Cowleys for help!

We arrived, equipped our protective bee suit, and within minutes located the bald-faced hornets nest (it was hard to miss)! When a hornets nest gets that big, it means there are hundreds of short-tempered insects inside waiting to sting anything that comes close to their nest! For treatment, we injected a knockdown aerosol application directly into the opening of the nest. A few moments later, we treated the nest with a knockdown liquid product. Both treatments rapidly exterminate the bald-faced hornets. Once they were eliminated we removed the nest and the branch it was attached to and disposed of them properly.  

We were sent out on a service call to a business owner in Warren, NJ who was suffering from a heavy fruit fly infestation in his kitchen. As we inspected, we noticed that the fruit flies were hovering near several floor drains. We took a closer look and discovered that the floor drains were full of dirty, discarded food and liquid residue. 

First, we treated the infestation areas with a fly bait to control the adult fruit flies. Next, we applied a liquid application in all the floor drains and then scrubbed them out with our heavy-duty scrubber. The liquid application removes the bad bacteria in the drain, which eliminates the fruit fly's breeding habitat. Lastly, we applied a bio-foam solution that removes the organic build-up, odors, and scum in the drain. Once we finished, we spoke to the owner and mentioned a few, simple sanitation protocols to prevent future fruit fly or other pest issues. 

I arrived at a home in Helmet for their scheduled home protection plan (HPP) servicing.  Our residential service plans, which cover over twenty common household pests, include preventive perimeter treatments and indoor treatments as needed. Homeowners have unlimited service calls for any covered pest infestation throughout the plan period.  

Upon arrival, to my surprise, the homeowner has told me she has been having mice issues for six months, but did not contact us because she had been “getting used” to having mice! As a pest control technician, knowing the property damage and health hazards that mice can cause, I politely explained that a homeowner can never accept or allow an infestation to continue and worsen. Even though mice keep to themselves and avoid human interaction, these pests can cause a host of problems. I was especially surprised because this homeowner had a home protection plan and was fully covered. All she needed to do was pick up the phone and call us. A Cowleys pest control technician would have been immediately dispatched to happily resolve the problem. 

I started my treatment to get rid of this mouse infestation. This homeowner lived in a wooded area of Wall Township, and had mouse problems in the past. I replaced over twenty RTU mouse bait stations inside her home. These stations lock automatically when closed and require a special key to open, making them tamper-resistant to pets and children.  

However, something didn’t sit well with me. This homeowner was still having active mouse activity in her home despite the array of bait traps that were set. I was extra-thorough while inspecting for possible entry points in order to satisfy myself that there were no major openings. I crawled under her deck to check for possible exterior entry points that would match up where there was extensive mouse activity inside the home. My intuition and perseverance paid off. I successfully located a major rodent entry point. As shown in the attached picture, you’ll often see piles of droppings near entry points along with small hair follicles that have rubbed off. Here, the mice pulled out insulation, creating a tunnel for them to come and go as they please. I sealed up the hole with copper mesh to make sure that this entry point would be blocked for good.

The homeowner was pleased with my service. Before leaving I emphasized to her that she should never hesitate to take advantage of her home protection plan, and call us at the first sign of trouble. Pest infestations, whether rodent or insect, are unacceptable to live with. The sooner we come, the less entrenched the infestation, and the easier it is to resolve. Mice may appear to be small, harmless, and docile. But don’t be fooled by their appearance. Once they infest a home, these little creatures can cause significant property damage through their constant gnawing. Also, their toxic droppings can become airborne once they dry out, spreading disease. And mice invading kitchens can contaminate food. If you see mice or signs of a mouse infestation, it is a genuine emergency. For your family’s safety, contact a pest control service immediately. 

I was recently sent out to a senior citizen development in Monroe Township, NJ to resolve a mouse infestation. The homeowner, who had quite a sense of humor considering there were rodents in her dwelling, told me that she was seeing “Mickey and friends,” but she was stumped as to how these little critters were gaining access to her home.

Usually, when inspecting for rodents, you’ll only see signs of rodent activity and not the pests themselves. Here, i found one of the most common signs of rodent activity — their droppings that they leave behind. Here, I found mouse droppings Considering near one of the poles in the closet. This pole happened to extend all the way up from the crawl space, and there was enough of a gap around the pole for mice to squeeze through to reach her closet. 

I applied a tracking powder along the pole and also excluded the space around the pole to seal off access. For rodent infestations, it is also important to conduct a thorough inspection of the home’s perimeter. During my outdoor inspection, I noticed a large opening underneath the exhaust. I took a picture of the potential rodent entry point to show the homeowner, and then proceeded to seal up that hole as well. 

After returning for a follow-up visit two weeks later, I was greeted by one happy homeowner. She told me exactly what i love to hear. She said that there were no further mouse sightings, mouse droppings, or any other signs of mice activity since my first visit.

Here are some “before and after” exclusion pictures that I had taken as part of a job to resolve a mouse infestation for a homeowner in East Brunswick, NJ. When dealing with rodents, it is critical to determine how they are gaining access inside the home. You can go ahead and set up bait traps and apply applications to deal with the mice inside the home, but to permanently resolve the problem and prevent re-infestations, you need to locate the entry points used by the mice to gain access into the home. Sometimes you know they are actual entry points because of nearby rodent activity near the gap or crack. For example, if you find tiny, dark pellet-like droppings or smelly urine near the gap or crack, you are pretty much guaranteed that some mice availed themselves of the opening to gain access into the home. Other times during the inspection, the technician may find potential entry points that need to be sealed. 

Finding the gaps and cracks can sometimes be a challenge. Mice are tiny creatures and they can fit through a hole the size of a dime. A good inspection requires a thorough visual of the home’s entire foundation. Often, mice enter into the crawl space or attic and then use wall voids to maneuver their way around the home, eventually making their way to the kitchen to forager for food. Sometimes, the gaps are small and it takes a lot of detective work to find them. However, there are occasions where you’ll find a huge gap that for a mouse would be the equivalent of the Holland tunnel! That was the case here. With this home, there was a huge gap around a utility pipe entering the home. The gaps around pipes and wiring entering the home are always treated as one of the “usual suspects” to check when looking for rodent entry points. Here, you can see the large gap around the pipe.

To seal this gap, I filled it with chew-proof copper mesh. Rodents are persistent creatures that can tear and chew there way through many materials. For example, using caulk to close gaps is never enough. With the copper mesh firmly in place, this access point for mice has been permanently blocked.