Wildlife Removal Before & After Photos

This Bradley Beach homeowner had damage to his facia board that was caused by squirrels. The fascia board on a house is the vertical finishing edge that caps the end of the rafters, and is often where the home’s gutters are attached. Squirrels had chewed and clawed their way right through fascia. 

Another common trouble spot around the roof often damaged by wildlife is the soffit. The soffit is the finished wood or vinyl horizontal underside (water-resistant vinyl is preferable) beneath the overhanging section of the roof eave. Soffits, which have small holes to help ventilate the attic, are often a magnet for attracting small animals and insects.

A Cowleys wildlife technician had already resolved the squirrel issue, and I was called in to do the repair and exclusion work. Cowleys has a crew of technicians with extensive experience in home construction. Our projects include installing TAP insulation, waterproofing crawl spaces, treating mold, and repairing damage caused by wildlife.

The homeowner was insistent that he did not want the expense of removing his gutters, replacing the damaged fascia board, and re-installing the gutters. So, I took a more expedient approach that would leave the fascia in place. First, I needed brown aluminum to match the brown fascia board. This was easier said than done. It was a challenging job. In order to do this, I had to remove the supports for the gutter, and I had to do this a section at a time so the gutter would not fall. While the supports were off, I slid the the brown aluminum between the gutter and the fascia board to cover the damaged areas.

The next step to this process was to install a white sheet-metal drip edge. The drip edge is flashing installed along the edge of eaves. To install it, I slid the edging up under the shingles and carefully bent it so that it would wrap down on top of the brown aluminum layer. To fit the drip edge to size, I used tin snips, and allowed an overlap where the two pieces of drip edge meet so there would be no gap where water could potentially seep through. 

A drip edge is an important part of roofing that is often overlooked or not understood by homeowners. This drip edge is what gives a finished look to the roof and it also goes long way preventing rainwater from causing damage to the wood building materials near the roof. The drip edge helps keep out rainwater by preventing blow-under leaks caused by wind-driven rains and by directing rainwater into the gutter instead of running down the fascia where water, over time, can wreck havoc. 

A drip edge also helps prevent wildlife infestations. Moisture and water intrusions easily ruin wooden facia boards, and as this homeowner found out, fascia that weakened and softened by rain is also an open invitation for many types of wildlife like squirrels and raccoons to gain access inside the attic. These animals can rip and claw their way through weakened fascia like it was butter.Finally, a drip edge acts as a support for the shingles so they are not just hanging off the edge of the roof.

Homeowners in Rumson, NJ, had a bat infestation in their attic. Bats are often attracted to homes for maternity and nesting roosts. The species of bats found in New Jersey have adapted well to using the walls and attic spaces of homes. They make great places to hibernate or raise their young. A wildlife technician had already completed the bat exclusion and sealed their access points into the attic. But more work needed to be done. As often happens, whenever wildlife, especially bats, raccoons, or squirrels, take up residence in attics, they are rude houseguests, and that’s putting it mildly.   

Wildlife can cause a significant amount of damage in a short period of time from their activities. They can cause all sorts of problems such as chewing through wiring, which is a serious fire hazard. A major problem of any wildlife infestation is their urine and often prodigious quantities of droppings. A colony of bats can produce a significant amount of dripping, smelly guano (poop). One of the most common casualties of a wildlife infestation is ruined contaminated attic insulation. Also, from a health standpoint, bat droppings can contain the histoplasmosis fungus and other pathogens. Bat guano, like all wildlife droppings, should be treated as a toxic health hazard. Never enter an enclosed area with wildlife droppings without proper protective equipment. 

A Cowleys home improvement crew was brought in to handle this clean-up. We removed the soiled insulation, sanitized and deodorized the space, and installed 10” of our blown-in cellulose insulation. After it is installed and settles, this dense fire-retardant thermal blanket does an amazing job holding in heat in the winter and conditioned air in the summer. It is an energy-efficient money-saver for homeowners. Also, unlike fiberglass rolls, the coverage of blown insulation is complete and comprehensive. We can fill in all of those hard-to-fit spaces that roll often miss. This insulation also helps with sound and noise dampening. Finally, it even has an effective pest control component. A specialized form of borate is added to the paper fibers. If an insect comes into contact with borate particles will ingest it as part of its grooming, and soon thereafter it’s “game over.”  It’s important to mention that borates are only lethal to insects. It’s completely safe and non-toxic for humans and, for that matter, any other mammal. 

After we were done with our cleanup, you would have never guessed that this attic was once used as a dirty bat cave. Now, this sanitized and deodorized guano-free attic, with its fresh insulation, looked great, smelled great, and was safe, clean, and sanitary.

This homeowner in Highlands had wildlife gaining entry into his attic through a gable vent. The wire mesh screen covering the gable vents was damaged, most likely from the animals themselves. With the screen breached, they were able to gain access into the attic.

Homes are equipped with attic vents to provide efficient ventilation. They allow heat and humidity to escape from the attic in the summer and moist air in the winter. You’ll find vents on the underside of your soffits and on the home’s gables, which are the triangular portion of the outside wall of a house that comes to a peak between the edges of the intersecting roof pitches. Homes with a simple gable roof (two roof sections sloping in opposite directions that meet at the roof ridge), typically have gable vents at the two ends of the house, and sometimes over the garage. Homes with more ornate roof structures with multiple gables usually have multiple gable vents. While these vents are necessary for efficient attic ventilation, they often wind up being the “weakest link” in the roof structure for wildlife to gain access. Time and time again, our wildlife technicians have had to deal with infestations with wildlife that used a gable vent as their personal welcome mat to enter the attic. Once inside, wildlife can cause significant property damage. They can ruin expensive insulation and chew through wires, creating a fire hazard, and their droppings are a serious health hazard.

Two members of Cowleys home construction crew were sent in to do the exclusion work and make sure that, going forward, wildlife would be blocked from trying to re-enter the attic through this vent. We carefully removed the damaged screen and installed a new one.