Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

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.

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. 

One warm afternoon in Manahawkin, NJ, this homeowner and his teenage son were getting some much needed yard work done. As the teen was mowing the lawn, he was suddenly attacked and stung by several hornets! He quickly stopped what he was doing, told his Dad who then called Cowleys for help and we were sent out to investigate and treat. 

As we inspected the area where the teen was stung, we took a look at the large tree and spotted the hornets nest. Upon closer inspection, we were able to identify them as bald-faced hornets. Bald-faced hornets are social stinging insects that are a close relative to yellow jackets. The surface of their upper midsection almost looks triangular from the side, and they have white markings on their face. Aside from being short-tempered and extremely aggressive is they have smooth stingers, which means they can sting over and over again, can actually sense vibrations in the air, and remember their invader's face!

To eliminate them, we injected a knockdown dusting application directly into the opening of their nest. After several moments, we also injected a knockdown liquid application. These treatments will exterminate the bald-faced hornets almost immediately. A short while after neutralizing the bald-faced hornets, we removed the nest (and the branch it was attached to) and disposed of them.