Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

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.

Homeowners in Old Bridge, NJ, recently converted their front porch to a year-round living space. There is a small crawl space underneath the newly converted area. As they started to use the area, they soon noticed a musty, earthy odor wafting up from the crawl space. Also, the floor was quite cold. They contacted Cowleys for some crawl space renovation that would buffer the cold air and remove the odors, and one of our crawl space encapsulation teams was sent over. 

To stop the cold air, we installed Silverglo insulation on the exterior walls. SliverGlo is a lightweight, rigid, and closed-cell insulation that is much more efficient than over-the-counter batt and foam insulations that just isn’t designed for crawl spaces. Its closed-cell structure provides minimal water absorption and low vapor permanence. Other types of insulation act like a sponge in damp crawl spaces and, once wet, loses its ability to effectively insulate. We then installed a CleanSpace liner (vapor barrier) to encapsulate the area.This heavy-duty 20-mil liner is much thicker and sturdier than the generic “contractor bag” liners. 

With the crawl space sealed from the outdoor elements, the homeowners will no longer have a “freezer box” underneath their flooring and the odors will be gone as well. Considering that there were odor problems during the winter month, once summer rolled around, the problem would have gotten even worse. With the encapsulation, there will be far less likelihood of mold formation and the crawl space will stay nice and dry — the homeowners can now even use this “dead” crawl space area for storage if needed.

As I was performing a routine service for a Home Protection Plan customer in Keyport, NJ I noticed a viable entry point in the foundation of a house. Believe it or not, this opening is the perfect size for not just pests, but mice to enter the home. In fact mice can squeeze through an opening the size of a dime!

First, I stuff the opening with copper mesh. Copper mesh is an excellent way to exclude rodents from crawling into tights spaces because they are unable to chew through it. Next, I used black caulk to seal the opening. Afterwards I finished treating the home for their regular service. 

These Beachwood, NJ homeowners had a colony, or cloud, of bats nesting in their attic for quite a while. Although there was no longer an active bat infestation, the bats left behind a toxic mess of guano (bat droppings). 

We removed all the contaminated insulation and added approximately 10" of fresh new 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! Not to mention,heating and cooling systems of a home have to work double-time to replace lost air during temperature fluctuations when insulation isn't present. The result is almost always going to be an expensive energy bill. Blown-in cellulose insulation maximizes home comfort and optimizes energy usage for year-round peace and savings.

After seeing us perform work at her neighbors house, this homeowner in Beachwood, NJ called our office inquiring about having her attic insulated. After inspecting her attic space and noticing that there was barely any insulation in the attic, we determined that the best course of acting would be to add 10 inches of TruSoft blow-in cellulose insulation. She agreed and we went right to work!

TruSoft 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!