Pests We Treat Before & After Photos

The customer in Howell, NJ, was renovating his living room one afternoon. As he removed a portion of the sheetrock, he came upon a large and active yellow jackets nest right behind it! He immediately called Cowleys for help, since he is a Home Protection Plan customer, and we were sent out. 

Yellow jackets are social insects that build their paper-like material nests from chewed cellulose. If the entrance of their nest is approached, they will attack! Their stings are very painful and those who are allergic to their venom could have a severe reaction. After we equipped our protective bee suit, we injected a residual dusting application into the nest.

We then waited a little bit and then injected a knockdown aerosol product. These treatments will exterminate the yellow jackets quickly. Several moments after treating the nest, we removed it and then properly discarded it. Now the homeowner can continue with his renovations without getting stung!

A homeowner in Holmdel, NJ was having issues with carpenter bees infesting the wood fascia boards in his house. Carpenter bees, large, shiny black bees, are destructive wood-boring insects. The female bee burrows into the wood to lay her eggs while the male hovers around nearby to protect the queen from any predators or other males. The tell-tail sign of a carpenter bee infestation is sawdust, commonly known as sass, collecting below the holes where the bees have bored into the wood. As this homeowner found out, besides the drilling damage from carpenter bees, the larvae attract noisy woodpeckers that drill holes along the bee homes to reach and feed on the larvae. Woodpecker activity results in long trenches and holes along the wood. Needless to say, after the cumulative effect of carpenter bee and woodpecker activity, a home can suffer quite a bit of damage. The damage is more than unsightly. The holes can allow water seepage into the wood, weakening it and causing wood rot which it, turn, can lead to other insect and even wildlife infestations. Squirrels and raccoons commonly exploit weaknesses in a home’s structure, especially damaged fascia boards, soffits, or roofing shingles, to gain access inside the attic.

These carpenter bees were persistent. After a few treatments, the bees and the woodpeckers would return. A permanent solution was needed to prevent these re-infestations, and Cowleys home improvement crew was called in. To repair the damage, we removed the damaged wood fascia and replaced it with a high-performance exterior cellular PVC trim. This material won’t rot, cup, split, twist, or warp, and carpenter bees, or woodpeckers for that matter, can’t drill into it. The new fascia looked great and blended in with the house. The homeowner was relieved that the carpenter bee infestation was gone, and he no longer had to listen to noisy woodpeckers chipping away on his home.

This homeowner in Colts Neck, NJ, had a major infestation of yellow jackets in one of her upstairs bathroom and needed help to remove them ASAP. So she found Cowleys online, gave us a call, and we were sent out to inspect and treat. As we examined the bathroom, we noticed that the yellow jackets were coming from a tiny hole in the bathroom closet. Since the attic was right above, we decided to inspect that area. As we removed a piece of insulation, we uncovered a HUGE yellow jackets nest! Turns out that there was a tiny hole in the attic that the yellow jackets were using to infest the home!

We treated the nest with a knockdown aerosol and a knockdown dusting application. Both of these treatments will exterminate the yellow jackets almost immediately. A short while later, we carefully removed the nest, disposed of it, cleaned up the area, sealed the hole in the bathroom closet with a waterproof adhesive, and then applied a liquid residual product to the attic area. This treatment will eliminate any remaining yellow jackets in the area as well as prevent them from rebuilding their nest. 

As she was cleaning up her yard, this homeowner in Colts Neck, NJ spotted a hornets nest on her gas meter! She immediately called Cowleys for help and we were sent out. When we arrived, we equipped our protective bee suit, and took a closer look at these stinging insects. Once we got close, we were able to identify these pests as bald-faced hornets.

Bald-faced hornets are social stinging insects that are a close relative to yellow jackets. The surface of their upper midsection almost looks triangular from the side, and they have white markings on their face. They have a bad temper and are territorial and aggressive. So aggressive that they won't hesitate to sting anything or anyone that comes close to their nest. They also have smooth stingers and can sting over and over again. Even more terrifying is that bald-faced hornets can actually sense vibrations in the air and even remember their invader's face!

For treatment, we injected a knockdown aerosol application directly into the nest. This application neutralizes the bald-faced hornets almost immediately. After a few moments went by, we carefully removed the nest and then disposed of it properly.

While treating this property in Colts Neck, NJ, we spotted some bald-faced hornets hovering around the second floor deck. We equipped our protective bee suit and starting approaching the area. That's when we noticed a bald-faced hornets nest peaking out. At first look, it appeared to be small, but once we got closer, we realized that was only a small portion of the nest hanging out! The nest itself was HUGE!

First, we injected a knockdown dusting application into the nest. Shortly after, we injected a knockdown aerosol application. These treatments are designed to eliminate the bald-faced hornets quickly. Moments later, we removed the large nest, disposed of it, and then treated the area with a liquid residual. This residual is going to exterminate any remaining bald-faced hornets that return to this area as well as prevent them, and other stinging insects, from building another nest.