Before & After Photos

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. 

Recently, I was dispatched to a home in Holmdel, NJ that was having an on-going problem with mice overwintering in the home. As temperatures drop, mice will seek refuge inside out homes to escape the harsh outdoor elements. Unfortunately for this homeowner, as soon as some mice were baited or trapped, another group of rodents would come out of the “woodwork” to take their place. Finally, the homeowners had enough dealing with their mouse issues and contacted Cowleys to determine the source of the problem and stop any further mouse entry into their home.

Upon arrival, I started my inspection of the home to locate any actual or potential mouse entry points. This particular home had a full crawl space and a garage. Mice often gain access through these locations int he home first. Then once inside, they find their way into the wall voids where they have full run throughout the entire home (since they are foraging for food, you’ll often spot them or signs of mouse activity in the kitchen). 

Sure enough, mice were entering through the home’s foundation. I found two crawl space vents that had holes in the screening. The nylon screening had actually disintegrated over time. Vented crawl spaces can cause a host of problems for homeowners, not the least of which are insect and rodent infestations. To seal these access points, I cut two pieces of hardware cloth to cover the holes. To deal with any mice that were still hiding in the crawl space, I set a number of baited traps. With the entry points closed and bait traps set, these homeowners should see an immediate reduction in the number of mouse sitings. 

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.

Homeowners in Lakewood, NJ had turkey vultures roosting on the edge of their flat roof. Vultures in Jersey? Actually, we are home to two vultures species, turkey vultures and black vultures. Turkey vultures bear no relation to our "gobble gobble" turkeys, so please, don't stuff and cook one for Thanksgiving! The only reason we call them turkey vultures is their appearance. Their bald red head and dark plumage resembles wild turkeys. The turkeys are historic residents of the state while black vultures are a more recent arrival to the state.

Although vultures, as any bird, can become a nuisance bird once they start roosting on a home or other structure and depositing their droppings all over, they are very important birds in our ecosystem. Vultures are nature’s clean-up crew. By feeding on dead, decomposing animal carcasses (carrion), tase birds reduce the risk of disease and contamination from rotting animals. So, if our road maintenance crews don’t get around to removing unsightly roadkill, these birds are happy to jump in.

Vultures are a protected migratory bird species, as are most birds. With bird control, we never "get rid" of birds. Rather, it is all about making your property inhospitable to birds. We install various types of deterrents, the choice of which depends on type of bird infestation and the specifics of the property. We change their behavior so they relocate elsewhere to a place that is more welcoming. Also, bird control is customized. There is never a one-size-fits-all single solution.

Here, the homeowners were pretty distressed with the activity of these birds. Their highly acidity droppings had caused some terrible staining on their home, and they were concerned that the droppings could damage their shingles, and rightly so. Birds excrete their liquid and solid waste together in one sticky "bomb." Their droppings contain uric acid, which is corrosive enough to dissolve paint, concrete, and metal.

Why did the birds choose this house? The likely reason is that this this house has the tallest roof in the general vicinity. Also, since the roof was flat, it made for easy landing.

Because of the roof structure, we decided that the best solution would be to take away their roosting areas by installing shock track on outside edges of the roof. Shock tracks send a clear message to the birds that they are no longer welcome by emitting a low-voltage shock when a bird attempts to land. the shock does not harm them in any way, but it isn't pleasant either. Even for a bird, which aren’t the brightest (being labelled a "bird brain" isn't exactly a compliment), it does not take too many negative reinforcements to change their behavior. All we want them to do is relocate to a new location (anywhere but this house) that doesn't deliver shocks every time they land.

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.