Wildlife Removal Before & After Photos

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!

I was recently dispatched to a home in Holmdel, NJ to treat the damage caused by woodpeckers following a carpenter bee infestation. Carpenter bees are large bees that will bore holes into wood in order to lay their eggs. This boring not only causes damage to the wood through unsightly holes, but also allows water to seep into the wood, causing wood rot. 

This homeowner had old wooden fascia boards near his roofline. Carpenter bees had laid eggs in the fascia. Woodpeckers then came along and tore up the facia in order to reach the larvae. Woodpeckers love carpenter bee larvae! It’s fairly common to see woodpecker damage following a carpenter bee infestation — and woodpeckers can do a lot more destruction to homes and other wooden structures in a much shorter time frame than insects can do. 

To deter the woodpeckers from causing any more damage, we installed aluminum fascia over the wood. These birds have no interest in trying to peck their way through aluminum. 

This homeowner in Holmdel, NJ had a problem with flying squirrels in his attic. Flying squirrels, just like Eastern Grey Squirrels, are rodents. However, we don’t often see them because they are nocturnal. Homeowners generally realize that they have a flying squirrel infestation when they hear animal noises in the attic during the night once these little critters become active. If you happen to see one of these strange-looking squirrels, they are no longer than 10 inches, including their flat tail, and have large black-as-coal eyes. These animals don’t actually fly like birds or bats (the only winged mammal that can actually fly). But these squirrels can glide like a hawk — leaping into space and flattening their fur carpet bodies to glide from one tree to the next (or sometimes your roof where they find a way to access your attic).  

The homeowner had the entry points sealed, and contacted Cowleys to take care of the rest. These squirrels make their presence known as most home-invading nuisance wildlife — by leaving a path of destruction — often gnaw marks and always stains and odors from their urine and feces. Flying squirrel feces looks like bat guano and can cause some confusion about the type of wildlife infestation. These particular pests tend to do their business in the same spots.  Over time, their waste can seep through and stain the ceiling underneath. Like all wildlife, they can bring parasites and tics into your home, and their droppings, once they dry out, release disease-transmitting airborne particles. Needless to say, wildlife taking up residence inside your home is a serious health hazard.

Cowleys was called in to clean, sanitize, and deodorize the attic. Wearing proper protective equipment and masks, we removed the debris and the soiled insulation and hepa-vacuumed the entire attic space, which was a bona fide biohazard when we had first arrived. After making the attic safe, we installed 10” of our blown-in TAP cellulose insulation. Cowleys is a licensed installer of TAP Pest Control Insulation. TAP stands for its three key properties — Thermal, Acoustical, and Pest Control. This insulation not only offers superior thermal and acoustical (sound-deadening) properties but has a pest control component as well. The paper fibers are treated with a borate solution that is harmless to people, but lethal to many insects including ants, beetles, and termites. 

By the time we were finished, this Holmdel residence looked like it had a brand new attic with top-quality insulation. This was a particularly rewarding job for all of us on the installation team. It’s a great feeling to transform an attic that was destroyed by invading wildlife into a clean, beautiful, functional space.

After we finished installing chimney caps on this homeowner's property, we couldn't help but notice that the chimney was in bad shape. The cracked bricks on the chimney can let moisture in, which will lead to mold problems and even a pest infestation.

After bringing this to the owner's attention, we used a crown seal on the chimney to prevent these issues. Crown seal is a proprietary elastomeric coating that is specifically formulated to repair and protect chimney crowns from water intrusion. Now the chimney is protected from any type of moisture or pest issue. 

Previously, our Little Rascals Nuisance Wildlife Removal team and safely and successfully removed a large number of bats that had been living in this homeowners' attic. The only downside was that the bats left behind a toxic mess of bat guano (bat feces). 

First, we carefully disinfected the entire attic and removed all the contaminated insulation. Afterward, we added approximately 10 inches of TruSoft blown-in cellulose insulation! TruSoft blown-in cellulose insulation has a higher R-value than standard fiberglass insulation, has the highest Class-1 fire safety rating, is resistant to mold and pests, and is eco-friendly! Blown-in cellulose insulation maximizes home comfort and optimizes energy usage for year-round peace and savings.