Wildlife Removal Before & After Photos

This homeowner in Spring Lake, NJ had a problem with several squirrels nesting in his chimney. A short while after setting up our retrieval devices, we safely retrieved the squirrels, disinfected the area, and relocated them to a new, humane location. Now, in order to prevent any future infestation from squirrels, nuisance birds, and other nuisance wildlife we're going to install a Chimney cap. 

A chimney cap is a heavy-duty material that is constructed out of 24 Gauge Top and Flange, and 18 Gauge Galvanized Mesh! It is designed to prevent access to the chimney from all nuisance wildlife and birds.

After safely and successfully removing squirrels from this home in Oakhurst, NJ, we began to repair the severely damaged fascia board and soffit area.

First, we removed the old, damaged fascia board and replaced it with new water-resistant pressure-treated lumber. Next, we capped the newly installed fascia board with metal flashing in order to cover and protect it from pests and nuisance wildlife. Lastly, we closed up the access point in the soffit area made by the squirrels with metal flashing.

This Oakhurst homeowner had some major fascia issues that allowed their attic to become a squirrel “motel.” A Cowleys wildlife technician had trapped and relocated numerous squirrels. Once he did a final sweep and determined that there were no more squirrels in the attic, the home improvement crew was called in to do some pretty involved exclusion work that involved a lot more than just plugging up a hole. Wildlife exclusion involves any type of repair work involved in order to seal potential entry points into a home to prevent any re-entry. Taking care of the existing infestation is the critical first step, but after that it is important to take steps to prevent a re-infestation.

Squirrels, raccoons, and other wildlife often seek refuge in attics. These animals are excellent climbers and generally have no problems reaching the roofline. Once there, they can do all sorts of mischief to gain access inside. One of the most common entry points into a home are water-damaged soffits and fascia boards. The fascia board is the vertical finishing edge that caps the end of the rafters. This is the usual spot where the home’s gutters are attached.  The soffit is the finished wood or vinyl horizontal underside beneath the overhanging section of the roof eave. Once these building materials become water-damaged and start to rot, they become targets for wildlife that can easily tear through these weakened materials to gain access to the attic. 

This particular house had some major problems along the roofline. The rear left side soffit and fascia had dropped about three inches. Fortunately, we were able to just push it back up and re-secure it.  However, the rear left corner of the home had roof and fascia damage that left in wide open for wildlife, not to mention water infiltration into the attic. Water seepage into the attic can lead to insect infestations, mold growth, and damage to building materials. 

The roof repair was straightforward. We patched the shingles to close up the opening. The rotten fascia had lost its structural integrity and had to go. We first had to detach the gutter in order to access and remove the rotten fascia boards.  We replaced the bad boards with AZTEC-brand trim, which is made of cellular PVC. Contractors love this material. It is highly durable and won’t rot, cup, split, warp, or twist like wood.  With this new trim, the homeowner will never have to worry about wood rot again. Finally, we reattached the gutters to complete the job.  

This job was a lesson to homeowners about keeping up with needed home repairs and simple annual home maintenance jobs like gutter cleaning. If homeowners are unable to clean their own gutters, Cowleys offers professional gutter cleaning services.  Also, most building materials degrade over time. Fascia and soffits are notorious trouble spots because they are near the roofline and are constantly surrounded by water. If the gutters are clogged, water will pool there and start saturating the surrounding wood. 

There is no question that this homeowner’s squirrel infestation was attributable to the needed repairs of his roof and soffit. Of course, homes kept in good repair can also suffer from wildlife infestations. A determined raccoon or squirrel can tear through visually anything. However, homes with preexisting exterior damage give wildlife an easy “bullseye” to aim for, and if they see a weak spot, you can rest assured that they will exploit it.

Recently, a homeowner in West Long Branch, NJ contacted Cowleys so that we could capture and relocate some raccoons that infested the roofline area, and after capture, repair the damaged building materials. Raccoons are large, dexterous animals capable of causing a significant damage with their razor-sharp teeth and claws. Here, raccoons damaged some soffit and fascia materials in order to gain entry. 

We secured baited traps on the roof of the building around their pathway that they were using to and from their entry point. Sure enough, the very next day, the raccoons were captured, and we then released them in a safe location in a much more suitable habitat. With the animals removed, we could  remove and replace the damaged fascia and soffit materials. Once the repair work was done, the home looked as good as new. No one would have ever guessed that there was a recent raccoon infestation.

A raccoon decided to turn this customers attic in West Long Branch, NJ into it's new home, without the consent of the homeowner! So she called Little Rascals and we were sent out. Once we arrived and started inspecting the home, we knew exactly where the raccoon had entered, through the gable vent! It practically ripped it right off! So we installed a one-way device over the opening and temporarily installed hardware cloth over the entire gable vent. We also placed several baited devices nearby.

The one-way will allow the raccoon to safely leave the attic, but prevent it from getting back in. A short while later, we successfully and safely retrieved the raccoon and then took it to a new, humane location. We then disinfected the entire attic, installed a new gable vent, and then installed a louvered vent guard over the newly installed gable vent. The louvered vent guard is made out of heavy-duty Galvannealed steel. It won't rust, is customized to accommodate vents of all shapes and sizes, and properly secures the gable vents from not just raccoons, but birds, bats, and all nuisance wildlife!