Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

This customer in Hightstown, NJ, had a problem with squirrels - they were getting into his attic and causing a mess! They were getting in by chewing into a small portion of the fascia and squeezing through the opening they made! Once we set up our retrieval devices, a short while later, we safely retrieved all the squirrels and took them to a safer location.

Now all we have to do is close off their access point. After disinfecting the attic, we installed a piece of sturdy metal flashing over the access point. Now the area is sealed off and the squirrels are properly excluded from the home. 

A new residential client in Highland, NJ contacted Cowleys after hearing birds chirping in his attic. We went out, inspected the attic and found starlings, their nesting debris, and droppings all over the insulation.

Starlings are an invasive species and have a negative impact on the US economy and ecosystem. They are stocky black birds with short tails, triangular wings, and long, pointed bills. They nest in holes and cavities and often exploit openings in buildings to build a nest inside the home. So how did they invade this home? Well, after a thorough inspection of the exterior we discovered that the home had a builders gap.

A builders gap is a gap between the fascia board (where the gutter is hung) and roof decking. This gap is caused when roof decking is stopped too short and is not flushed with the fascia. The gap is meant to help with airflow throughout the attic but also is a perfect place for nuisance birds and wildlife to enter your home. Because the roof shingles only cover the gap, birds and nuisance wildlife can wiggle under the shingles and slip right in — which is exactly what the starlings did!

First, we carefully removed all the nesting debris and the contaminated insulation and disinfected the entire attic. Next, we installed over 150 feet of Pest Blok Metal Roof Edge Cap to close the builders' gap. This material is constructed out sturdy sheet metal with a silicone protected polyester coating that will protect the area against a variety of nuisance birds and wildlife.

This Dayton, NJ homeowner had a colony, or cloud, of bats in her attic, leaving a toxic mess of guano and urine throughout. The first part of the job was to remove the insulation that was destroyed by bat guano and urine. After the removal, we vacuumed, sanitized, and deodorized the entire attic until all remnants of a bat infestation were gone. 

For this attic, we blew in 10" of fresh TruSoft blown-in cellulose insulation. TruSoft blown-in cellulose insulation is a safe, non-toxic type of insulation that is 85% composed of recycled material. This method of “blown-in” or “open blow” cellulose is the process of loosely spraying the material into the attic or wall cavities to create a dense, insulated space to slow air flow. Our cellulose insulation is also non-flammable as well as rodent and mold/mildew resistant, making it an all-around benefit to the attic! 

The maintenance team of this commercial property in Dayton, NJ were conducting a routine inspection of the building when they spotted a soccer-ball sized bald-faced hornets nest underneath the electrical panel. Since the property manager is a Home Protection Plan customer of Cowleys, he knew just who to call and we were sent out!

Since bald-faced hornets are known to be extremely territorial and aggressive, this nest needs to be removed immediately. To do so, we injected a knockdown aerosol application directly into the nest. This will rapidly neutralize the bald-faced hornets. After a few moments had passed, we removed the nest and disposed of it properly.

As we were servicing this property in Dayton, NJ we spotted a paper wasp nest at the peak of the home about 30 feet up. Paper wasps received their name from the paper-like material out of which they make their nests. They are semi-social stinging insects that usually have brown bodies with yellow or reddish markings.  A sting from a paper wasp can be extremely painful and can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Using our ladder, we grabbed our extendable pole, attached an aerosol product to it, and liberally treated the nest. This product rapidly neutralizes the paper wasps. Moments later, we removed the nest, disposed of it, and applied a residual application to the area to prevent the paper wasps from returning and rebuilding their nest.