Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

The Cowleys nuisance wildlife crew was sent to this home in Atlantic Highlands, NJ to handle the exclusion work following a wildlife infestation in the attic. The wildlife access points were around the PVC roof vents caused by deterioration of the surrounding vent boots. We arrived to do the repair work to fix the problem.

Vent boots encase the PVC vent pipes that stick out of your roof. When doing repairs around vent pipe flashing after wildlife entry, homeowners sometimes ask us why their home even has these mysterious vent pipes since they seem like nothing but trouble.

These pipes are part of your plumbing system, or what plumbers call you drain-waste-vent (DWV) system, At the risk of oversimplification, this system has three major parts. The “D” stands for drainpipes, the pipes that collect water from sinks, showers, tubs, and your appliances like your dishwasher and washing machine. The “W” stands for waste pipes, the pipes that remove water and waste from your toilets. All of these pipes connect to the municipality’s sewer line or your septic system. The “V” stands for the vent pipes that stick out of your roof. Building codes require at least one of them.

Vent pipes have two important functions for your plumbing system. First, they equalize pressure in the pipes by allowing air to enter so that the liquid flows freely. (Just think what happens if you put your thumb over a straw immediately after you suck in liquid or if you try to pour liquid out of a can without a second air hole. Without air in the system, water doesn’t flow well.) Second, these vent pipes remove or exhaust sewer gases that are produced and collected from the decomposition of wastes in the sewage system. Sewer gas contains a number of nasty gases including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia that are flammable, poisonous, and just plain stink. These vents are put high up on your roof so that the sewer gas is not pulled back into the home through the windows or attic. 

So, if all that’s too much information, the short answer is that you need those vent pipes sticking out of your roof for your plumbing system to work. Unfortunately, even though these vent pipes are essential, they are also rank up there as one of the most common causes of roof leaks. In addition, the PVC vent areas are vulnerable to wildlife like raccoons that can tear through the vent flashing to gain access to the attic. 

To help prevent leaks and give some added protection against wildlife entry, vent boots seal the area where the pipes come out. Unfortunately, vent boots often don’t last the life of the roof. Because they’re usually made out of rubber, over time, the sun and the outdoor elements will cause them to rot. With this home, the vent boots had deteriorated to the point where they were gone completely, leaving entry points for water intrusions and for pests and wildlife to gain access inside the home.

These homeowners in Atlantic Highlands, NJ, were having problems with squirrels “squirreling” their way into their attic. They were tired of dealing with these periodic squirrel infestations into their home, and contacted Cowleys in the hopes of finding a long-term solution. We had the perfect answer for them! 

Our contractor division installed CritterProof, a critter protection product manufactured by Leaf Supreme, a leading designer of gutter protection systems. CritterProof is specifically designed to cover the fascia gap and exclude various wildlife that often makes their way onto the roof and into the attic. The most common “attic invaders” that we see time and time again here in New Jersey are squirrels, raccoons, and bats. Mice also find their way into the attic, but usually they first enter the home through the basement or crawl space. 

CritterProof is a protective system that stops wildlife from chewing and clawing their way through the delicate fascia boards to gain access to the soffit area and, ultimately, where the attic. For wildlife, attics are the perfect refuge to escape the harsh outdoor elements and they make for a wonderful nesting area to care for their young. After all, attics are warm, quiet, private, and free from the preying eyes of predators.  

A home’s soffit/fascia area is one of the more common routes we see for wildlife to gain entry. CritterProof’s unique adjustable design provides custom coverage of the fascia gap while still maintaining critical attic ventilation. CritterProof is available in black, white, and other colors by special order.

Little Silver, NJ homeowners found themselves with a family of raccoons (a mom and her two babies) that had taken up residence in their attic. The mom, looking for a quiet area to build a den for her kits, was able to gain entry through an opening in a boxed eave. These particular eave returns at the corner end of the roof fascia are informally referred to by builders as pork chops. “Porkchop” eaves are quite common. They are easy to build even though, aesthetically, they aren’t considered the most elegant design (hence the name). With these returns, the raking fascia is built flush with a triangular piece that covers up the end of the rafters and merges with the soffit below.  

With this opening in the soffit, the raccoon had free reign to come and go as she pleased to forage and care for her babies. To remove the raccoons, I made what wildlife techs like to call an “eviction ball,” and placed it into the soffit. The objective is to encourage the raccoon to vacate the premises and move on. ideally, we want them to enter a trap so we can relocate the animal to a safe area. My hand-made eviction ball happened to be a tennis ball. I drilled a hole into it and filled it with a raccoon eviction (repellant) fluid. This fluid, a thick, creamy paste, is a natural by-product of a male raccoon. The solution is a mixture of urine and other scents. The males are a predator to females during their birthing period,. To a mom raccoon, the smell of this fluid is a major warning sign that her young are in serious danger. A male (boar) raccoon will kill the baby kits in order to assert their genetic dominance. A sow that has lost her kits will go back in the heat and can then be re-impregnated by the male. Raccoons are one of a number of animal species that practice this type of infanticide. It’s one of the more gruesome scenes that a wildlife tech can come across, and one that I prefer to avoid. 

In addition to the eviction ball, I placed two baited traps on a lower roof. I put some tape over the roof opening to monitor raccoon activity. In this case, the mother wound up taking her kits and vacating the attic. She avoided entering the traps. After ensuring that there was no more wildlife in the attic, I framed out the end of the soffit and attached a new piece of metal flashing to cover up the hole. With the attic now sealed, this homeowner should not be visited by any more raccoons.

Homeowners in Red Bank, NJ, had a raccoon gain entry into their attic through the ceiling fan. Previously, our wildlife team successfully retrieved, removed, and safely relocated the trespassing raccoon, and also installed a tough galvanized steel mesh attic fan cover that would permanently block the entry point.

The homeowners however were concerned, and rightfully so, that there could still be unseen urine seepage or other hidden damage to their insulation. They did not want to take any chances. For their own peace of mind, the homeowners felt this was an opportune time to improve the quality of their attic insulation. 

We first removed the potentially contaminated insulation and flooring. Once that material was cleared out, we disinfected the entire attic to remove all traces and smells of a raccoon infestation.  Finally, after we replaced the flooring with new plywood, we “blew in” 12 inches of our TruSoft insulation. TruSoft blown-in cellulose insulation offers superior thermal properties as well as a pest control component. Now, with this top-quality insulation, these homeowners will enjoy a more comfortable energy-efficient home with reduced heating and cooling bills.

The homeowner in Red Bank, NJ, contacted Cowleys because he was concerned about his crawl space access, which was wide open. Cowleys has a contractor division that specializes, among other things, in crawl space improvements. Vented crawl spaces are often a source of many homeowner issues.

These chronically humid below-grade spaces often develop mold, and their environment attracts insects, mice, and wildlife. This homeowner was motivated to fix this opening because he has young kids who play around the house, especially now that spring is here and temperatures have warmed up. He was justifiably  concerned that their curiosity may get the best of them and they could accidentally fall in the entry hole. A dangerous situation, to be sure. Candidly, upon arrival, when we first saw the opening, we were surprised that nuisance wildlife had not yet exploited this opening. There was a high likelihood, even if the homeowner was not aware of it, that overwintering mice had vacationed in the crawl space. 

We had the perfect solution for this particular type of crawl space access — The Turtl. It’s not what you think. We didn’t block the crawl space entry hole with a giant snapping turtle!  This particular “turtl” is the brand name of a solid PVC vinyl weatherproof crawl space door and entry system that eliminates the need for a crawl space door and access pit in one fell swoop. 

Crawl space entry doors made of wood or steel can weaken over time through rot or rust leading to unwanted water intrusions, mold, and insect an wildlife infestations. The Turtl crawl space entry, with its locking lid, provides a tough attractive entry system that protects your crawl space from the harsh outdoor elements and keeps out insects, wildlife, and even little kids looking for trouble! The Turl crawl space access attaches directly to the foundation so it can’t shift or move. Also, it is manufactured using a rotational molding process, as are many chemical and fuel tanks, so it is seamless and can’t split. As you can see from the before and after photos, the Turtl turned an unattractive and potentially dangerous crawl space hole into a safe, protective crawl space entry system.