Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

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.

Recently, homeowners in Hazlet Township, NJ, contacted Cowleys after finding mouse droppings in their oven. Mice usually enter a home through gaps, cracks, or openings around the foundation and enter the basement or crawl space. From there, they travel through wall voids throughout the home, eventually making their way to the kitchen to forage for food. Even the cleanest kitchens can have hidden food debris under and behind kitchen appliances. Mice are attracted to not only food, but also heat sources like ovens, dryers, and motors underneath refrigerators. 

Upon arrival, I started my inspection with the oven since that’s where the droppings were found. Mice are nocturnal and do a good job staying out of sight. Homeowners will usually see signs of a mouse infestation, such as droppings, nesting materials, and hordes of relocated food, well before spotting a live mouse scurrying about. Here, I removed the storage drawer on the bottom of the oven and found even more distinctive mouse pellets. After cleaning around of the base of the oven, I found a good sized hole behind the oven where the electrical wires came up from the crawl space. No doubt, this is how the mice were gaining access to the kitchen. With mice, a good inspection strategy is following pipes and wires. often, there are gaps around them allowing the mice to gain entry into the home and then move about inside the home undetected. I sealed the hole with a chew-proof copper mesh and also placed a RTU (“ready-to-use”) bait station in the area. I also inspected the crawl space and placed other bait stations in strategic locations where there was mouse activity.

After we finished installing chimney caps on this homeowner's property, we couldn't help but notice that the chimney was in bad shape. The cracked bricks on the chimney can let moisture in, which will lead to mold problems and even a pest infestation.

After bringing this to the owner's attention, we used a crown seal on the chimney to prevent these issues. Crown seal is a proprietary elastomeric coating that is specifically formulated to repair and protect chimney crowns from water intrusion. Now the chimney is protected from any type of moisture or pest issue. 

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.

I was sent to Holmdel, NJ to help homeowners who were dealing with a mouse infestation in the void above their basement ceiling. After finishing up exercising on their basement treadmill,  the homeowners heard some strange noises above their heads — the scratching and scurrying noises of mice above their heads. Mice prefer to stay away from well-lit areas and stay in out-of-the way places like wall voids and above ceilings where they can come and go and move around the house as they please. When things are quiet, these sounds tend to amplify, and often, homeowners think that they are dealing with a much larger problem like squirrels or even raccoons. Of course, no homeowner should ever think that it’s “just mice.” Mice and their urine and droppings can contaminate food and counter tops. Like any wildlife, they are a health risk to a home’s occupants.

Needless to say, the homeowners were right. Mice had entered their living space from outside. Mice usually enter homes around gaps and cracks in the foundation, and I began my inspection in the basement, first popping out some tiles near where they had heard the unwanted visitors so I could get a better look. There were some mice droppings on to of the ceiling tile. I immediately saw how the rodents were gaining access. There was some daylight coming from a small opening on the outside wall. There was a hole drilled through the foundation, possibly for a exterior water spigot. However, nothing was ever installed and the hole was never sealed. Mice exploited the opening and came into the home.  Mice only need a hole about the size of a dime to squeeze through. These rodents are even smaller than they look because of all their fur. They have no collarbone, so if they can stick their head through an opening, the body will follow.

I always carry disinfectant and a hepa vacuum with me. I first sprayed the the droppings before cleaning them up. It is dangerous to disturb dry droppings because microscopic particles containing dangerous pathogens like potentially fatal hantavirus are released into the air.   

Preventing entry is key to rodent control. I stuffed the entry points with copper mesh that rodents are unable to chew through. Finally, I secured a rodent bait box on the home’s exterior near the hole. The combination of these strategies will soon put an end to the mouse problem for these homeowners.