Before & After Photos

Homeowners in Howell, NJ, were having ongoing issues with feral cats and raccoons gaining entry to their crawl space. They contacted Cowleys for a solution knowing that we had a specialized crawl space repair and improvement division that handles all types of crawl space issues from sump pump installations to full crawl space encapsulation. A two-person team was sent out to assess the problem and find the best solution. We had the perfect solution: installing a customized Everlast door. With this installation, the homeowner had a crawl space door that would address his immediate concern by sealing his crawl space from rodents and wildlife. Also, these doors stand up to the worst weather conditions, blocking water and moisture from entering the crawl space where it can cause mold and other problems. 

These Everlast covers are specifically made for crawl spaces and can be installed against wood framing or masonry. They work exceptionally well, and have great aesthetics, blending in perfectly with the home’s foundation. Made of a hard durable plastic, Everlast doors truly live up to their name. They stand up to the worst weather, and unlike wooden or metal doors, they don’t rot, warp, crack, or rust, are maintenance-free, and never need to be painted. Also, even though these covers form a tight seal over the crawl space access, they are super-easy to open. Just twist a few easy-to-grip knobs, and the door comes right off. 

The homeowners were quite pleased that we were able to offer them a quick, cost-effective, permanent solution to their crawl space wildlife issues.

I was sent to a home in Cliffwood, NJ when the homeowner contacted Cowleys after finding a wasp nest above a window in a seldom used room. 

Upon arrival, I went to the room where there was a wasp nest. Based on the shape and construction of the nest, i immediately recognized it as a mud dauber nest. Mud daubers are solitary wasps that, unlike social wasps like yellow jackets and baldfaced hornets, do not live in colonies with a queen and hundreds of specialized workers. Instead, each female breeds and tends to her own. For the most part, solitary wasps like mud daubers are not territorial with regard to their nests. They  are not aggressive, and they seldom sting people. 

These wasps also known as dirt daubers or mud wasps, and for good reason. The female constructs small nests by carrying little mud balls to the nest site. She uses the nests to keep her eggs warm. The nests are built as cylindrical tubes that look like a pipe organ (the most common species in New Jersey is known as the organ pipe mud dauber).

I removed the active nest that already had several eggs and wasps in various stages in their life cycle. Homeowners can control mud dauber populations in their home by controlling spider populations since they live, for the most part, on a steady diet of spiders. By sealing cracks where spiders can live and regularly removing spider webs, you should not have a problem with mud daubers. However, if you do start seeing these strange little mud nests around your home, call a pest control technician to remove them. While these guys are not actively looking to sting, if you start trying to scrape away their nests as a weekend DIY project without the right equipment and products, you’re asking for trouble. 

A Forked River homeowner wanted to improve his crawl space with a better alternative than traditional vapor barriers. For better or worse, crawl spaces are a chronic problem for homeowners when it comes to water, moisture, and mold issues. Many homeowners in New Jersey, especially those from the Jersey Shore who live near large bodies of water, are often faced with crawl space issues. This Forked River homeowner, like many homeowners who live in towns near the Barnegat Bay, was no exception.

For this homeowner, we installed a full “CleanSpace” Encapsulation System. “Cleanspacing” transforms chronically wet, damp crawl spaces into clean, dry areas that keeps away water and moisture.

Recently, I was sent to a home in Millstone Township, NJ for a periodic inspection and service visit that’s included in our residential home protection plans. These plans are valuable to homeowners because we often uncover pest problems that are overlooked by homeowners, especially outdoor infestations and infestations in their early stages. 

During my inspection, I observed a hornet just starting to make a nest on an overhang of the front door. Hornets are highly territorial insects and a nest in any high pedestrian traffic area is a problem. If this nest was not removed, residents and guests of this home could easily be perceived as a threat to the nest and suffer the consequences. Hornets are a formidable threat since they often attack as a swarm. Their venom is especially painful because it contains high levels of acetylcholine, a chemical that stimulates our pain receptors. Also, a single hornet is able to sting multiple times because, unlike bees, its stinger remains intact and does not become lodged in the victim. Since hornets are large insects, they carry a good supply of venom, and release more venom per sting than any other stinging insect. Suffice it to say, I was glad that I was able to locate and treat this nest while it was still in its beginning stages of being formed. By removing this nest now, this household avoided a serious stinging insect threat. 

Fortunately, since the nest was just starting to be formed it did not pose much of a threat to remove it. And that was just fine with me! First, I sprayed the nest with an aerosol foam to knock down any hornets in the nest. Once I saw that there was no more live activity, I safely removed the nest, bagged it, and carried it with me off the property. The homeowner was quite appreciative that I caught this problem early on before the hornets had a chance to form a mature nest. 

One of my biweekly commercial accounts, a restaurant in Keyport, was having ongoing issues with mice, despite our best efforts in locating and sealing possible entry points. According to the day manager, mice were running back and forth between a two-door area (see photo). So, I began my inspection by carefully looking for entry points in this area. Each door frame had a slight opening behind the baseboards. Mice had created their own point of access by chewing themselves a pathway to get around the bar area of the restaurant (see photo). 

I patched each hole with copper mesh. Now, with the mesh blocking them, the mice had lost their route to get back into these areas. I then placed several “tin cat” glue boards around the utility closet adjacent to the entry point. The utility closet was the perfect harborage area for mice — it was small, dark, and easily accessible. 

During my next follow-up, I made significant progress with the infestation. My “tin cats” had snared several mice now that these entry points were plugged. I’m confident that as long as I stay on top of closing possible entry points into the restaurant, their rodent problem will be eliminated. 

The most important line of defense for mice is keeping them out of the structure in the first place, and the only way to do that is by being vigilant about inspecting the building’s exterior perimeter, finding entry points and sealing them. Also, inspecting for mice is an ongoing process. Just like what happened here, new entry points can pop up between visits. Mice are persistent, focused creatures. If they are determined to find their way inside a structure, they will keep plugging away, either by finding a new entry point or by making their own. Mice are able to gnaw and chew their way through wood and other building materials.