Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

Recently, I was sent to treat and remove a paper wasp nest for a homeowner in Oakhurst, NJ.  

Paper wasps have that typical appearance we associate with wasps — a slender waist and long legs. They are called “paper” wasps because of how they build their nests. These wasps gather fibers from plant material and mix it with their saliva to make a brown or grey papery material for nest-building. They will build a small paper nest with a single tier of open cells to lay their eggs and rear their young. The nest has no external covering and looks like an umbrella, (that’s why paper wasps are sometimes called umbrella wasps). These nests are commonly attached to the underside of some structure by a short stalk.  

Paper wasps, like any social insect, live in large colonies with a queen and the supporting workers that keep the colony thriving. Other social wasps that we regularly receive calls for are hornets, and yellow jackets. Although paper wasps are considered less aggressive than these other wasps that’s of little consolidation to anyone stung by one of these guys! Any wasp will aggressively defend its nest if it perceives someone as a threat, so a wasp nest that’s in an area where people are regularly walking to and from is a potential hazard that must be removed. If a nest is located somewhere on the property where it’s out of the way and not likely to be disturbed, I recommend to just leave it alone. Wasps can be beneficial insects by reducing other insect populations on the property.

For this nest, I used a quick knock-down aerosol and then removed the nest. These stinging insect jobs are particularly rewarding to me because I know that I likely prevented some awfully painful stings. 

This homeowner in West Long Branch, NJ installed a store-bought dehumidifier for his basement. As most homeowners soon realize, these humidifiers simply aren’t enough for the damp, challenging environment of crawl spaces. In these areas of the home, dehumidifiers must work overtime to keep down humidity to acceptable levels where mold can’t grow. Also, generic dehumidifiers aren’t very powerful. At most, they can cover 500 square feet. This crawl space was almost triple that size. This homeowner realized that he would need to buy something else that actually works. These types of machines aren’t generally available in the big box stores, and after doing the research, he contacted Cowleys. A two-person team came out to install a commercial-grade SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier. We set it up to drain directly into the sump pump. This fully automatic dehumidifier is specifically designed to work in crawl spaces and basements. It, is maintenance-free with no water pan to empty or worry about overflowing. Also, these machines work in spaces as large as 3000 square feet, far more than the footprint of most homes.

Proper dehumidification is essential to prevent mold growth in basements and crawl spaces. Mold will thrive if the moisture content in the air is too high. You don’t need a major water intrusion like a leaky pipe for mold to form. High indoor humidity can trigger dangerous mold growth, and humidity levels are probably the most frequent causes of mold formation that we come across with Jersey Shore homes.

This dehumidifier keeps basements and crawl space below 55% relative humidity. At low humidity levels, mold can’t grow. As an added benefit, dust mites die off. Perhaps the only thing worse than mold spores floating around in your home is dust mite fecal matter. No wonder indoor allergies are so common! We have gotten great homeowner feedback from these Sedonas. They noticeably improve a home’s indoor air quality and help get rid of those stinky musty smells from crawl spaces and basements that waft into the living areas of the home.

Recently, a homeowner in West Long Branch, NJ contacted Cowleys so that we could capture and relocate some raccoons that infested the roofline area, and after capture, repair the damaged building materials. Raccoons are large, dexterous animals capable of causing a significant damage with their razor-sharp teeth and claws. Here, raccoons damaged some soffit and fascia materials in order to gain entry. 

We secured baited traps on the roof of the building around their pathway that they were using to and from their entry point. Sure enough, the very next day, the raccoons were captured, and we then released them in a safe location in a much more suitable habitat. With the animals removed, we could  remove and replace the damaged fascia and soffit materials. Once the repair work was done, the home looked as good as new. No one would have ever guessed that there was a recent raccoon infestation.

A raccoon decided to turn this customers attic in West Long Branch, NJ into it's new home, without the consent of the homeowner! So she called Little Rascals and we were sent out. Once we arrived and started inspecting the home, we knew exactly where the raccoon had entered, through the gable vent! It practically ripped it right off! So we installed a one-way device over the opening and temporarily installed hardware cloth over the entire gable vent. We also placed several baited devices nearby.

The one-way will allow the raccoon to safely leave the attic, but prevent it from getting back in. A short while later, we successfully and safely retrieved the raccoon and then took it to a new, humane location. We then disinfected the entire attic, installed a new gable vent, and then installed a louvered vent guard over the newly installed gable vent. The louvered vent guard is made out of heavy-duty Galvannealed steel. It won't rust, is customized to accommodate vents of all shapes and sizes, and properly secures the gable vents from not just raccoons, but birds, bats, and all nuisance wildlife!

This crawl space had almost every issue a crawl space could have, standing water, mold, hanging insulation, poor drainage, and moisture. Our crawl space encapsulation system solved them all. Crawl space humidity isn't just uncomfortable and smelly, it can cause structural damage to the woodwork of your home as well! Also, the mold it allows to grow is damaging to your health!

First, we removed all the contaminated insulation and debris, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed a drainage matting, which is a dimpled plastic mat material, over the dirt-floor crawl space. This allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the new sump pump we installed. Next, we installed a vapor barrier which is a 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene that is treated with an antimicrobial finish that protects against mold and mildew growth. Next, we installed SilverGlo™ which is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity to the walls of the crawl space.