Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

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Turkey Vultures Destroy Ocean Township NJ Commercial Building

The property manager of a professional services building in Ocean Township, NJ, observed turkey vultures landing on the peak of the roof. The primary nuisance birds in New Jersey are pigeons, house sparrows, starlings, and seagulls. However, every so often, residences and commercial buildings are used as nesting and roosting spots by other bird species, including vultures!

Many are surprised to learn that there are vultures in New Jersey. We are home to two vultures species, turkey vultures and black vultures. Turkey vultures, whose bald red head and dark plumage resembles wild turkeys, are historic residents of the state. Black vultures are a more recent arrival. Vultures are nature’s clean-up crew that help our ecosystem by feeding on dead, decomposing animal carcasses (carrion). The reduce the risk of disease and contamination from rotting animals. If our road maintenance crews don’t quickly remove roadkill left behind on our busy New Jersey roadways, these birds are happy to take over.  How can vultures eat decomposing, even diseased, flesh and organs without getting sick? They have highly acidic stomach acids that kills any pathogens. These acids are also their primary defense mechanism. If threatened, vultures will regurgitate its rancid stomach acids, not to mention its stomach contents, onto an intruder. Most intruders, once covered with vulture vomit, tend to rethink their plans.  

Vultures are a protected migratory bird species, as are most birds. The objective with bird control is to make your property inhospitable to birds using deterrents, so they change their behavior and move elsewhere. They types of deterrents depend on the type of bird infestation and the specifics of the property. There is no one-size-fits-all single bird solution.  

For this particular bird job, we installed 80 feet of shock track along the entire peak of the roof. These tracks gives off a low-volt shock should a bird attempt to land. It does not harm them in any way, but it does send a clear message to seek another area to rest. Even for birds, that aren’t the brightest, it does not take too many negative reinforcements for them to realize that they are no longer welcomed here.  

Needless to say, the property manager was quite pleased for these birds to be gone. Most of the businesses operating here are for professional medical services. The last thing anyone wants to see when visiting their doctor or dentist is seeing large birds hovering overhead that are, literally, waiting for death. With the shock tracks in place, these unattractive birds will no longer be taking up residence on the roof, making a mess from their droppings and making visitors uncomfortable. 

Mice find easy entry into Long Branch, NJ home

Recently, I was dispatched to a home in Long Branch, NJ that was plagued by mice. Vermin were running around the basement and first floor of the home as if they owned the place. And based on the level of infestation, I have to admit, they temporarily had the upper hand!  But now that I was here, it’s game over for these rodents. 

Mice are overwintering pests that make their way into homes as outdoor temperatures drop. They can potentially contaminate food and leave droppings wherever they go. Mouse and other rodent infestations pose a serious risk for transmitting Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) and other serious diseases. HPS is an infectious disease that starts with flu-like symptoms and can progress to life-threatening respiratory problems. Any activity that puts you in contact with rodent droppings, urine, saliva, or nesting materials can place you at risk for infection. Also, when mouse droppings dry and are disturbed, particles can become airborne and you can actually breathe them in. That’s why you never want to go into a small enclosed area where there is a rodent infestation without proper personal protective equipment like HEPA masks.

Mice tend to enter homes through access points in and around the foundation to get inside the basement or crawl space. Once there, they use wall voids to speed throughout the house, usually finding their way to the kitchen because of all the food attractants. Since mice are so small, there are often many entry points we are unaware of. They only need an opening about the size of a dime to make their way in. As such, they can easily squeeze their way inside through gaps and cracks in the foundation. Also, I’ve seen many homes where the mice have run along the sill plate until they find gaps around piping entering the home, such as a gas pipe behind the stove or water lines under the kitchen sink. 

During a rodent inspection, I generally start with the kitchen since this is their usual target destination. I then work backward to see how they are gaining access to the kitchen. With this home, after inspecting the kitchen for evidence of mouse activity, I moved to the basement where the homeowners had noticed most of the rodent activity. I inspected the entire home and even found mouse droppings in the attic, indicating to that mice had made their way throughout every floor of the home. 

While baiting for mice in the different areas of the home, I noticed daylight by the sill plate in the basement right by some wires. If daylight can shine in, it’s a good indication that there is enough of an opening for mice. A mouse can enter a home through a hole as small as the diameter of a dime. Since mice don’t have collarbones, if a mouse is able to poke its little snout through a hole, the rest of its body will follow. Upon further inspection, I found a large hole in the foundation — a hole large enough for a rat to enter let alone a tiny mouse. Someone had stuffed the hole with a rag. With the teeth and claws of a rodent, a rag would do absolutely nothing to deter a determined mouse or rat from getting into the house. I stuffed the access hole with chew-proof copper mesh to block any more rodents from entering. With the bait stations set up throughout the home, it will not take long for the rodent population to substantially decline. The objective, of course, is to get the rodent population down to zero. One mouse roaming around a home is one mouse too many!

I scheduled a two-week follow up to reinspect, replace the bait in the stations as needed, and determine if additional bait stations are necessary. With a heavy mouse infestation, it is important to have successive follow-up visits until there is no more observable rodent activity. 

Crawl Space Vent Cover Installed in Long Branch, NJ

A homeowner in Long Branch, NJ, recently purchased a home and while walking around the exterior perimeter, found something missing that was quite important — a cover over the crawl space entry. He knew that it would only be a matter of time for mice and other pests to access the crawl space and the opening was a major problem for letting in hot humid air. He knew that Cowleys did a wide variety of crawl space repair and improvement work and contacted us to see if there was anything that we could do. 

Cowleys had the perfect product: An Everlast cover that our contractor crew could easily custom fit to completely seal his crawl space access. 

These covers are custom provide a perfect seal for most any crawl space opening. 

They can be installed against wood framing or masonry, work exceptionally well, and look great. These doors,  made of a hard durable plastic, stand up to New Jersey’s worst weather and keep out mice and other pests. These crawl space covers are far superior in performance to wooden or metal doors since they can’t rot, warp, crack, or rust. As a bonus, they never need to be painted. Also, even though these covers form a tight seal over the crawl space access, they are easy to open with four easy-to-grip knobs. Just twist them off, and you’re in!  

This Long Branch homeowner could not have been more pleased.

Bird Removal in Long Branch, NJ

Recently, I went on a service call for a new residential client in Long Branch, NJ who contacted us to resolve an issue with birds nesting inside her home. Before beginning my inspection, I spoke to the homeowner about the bird infestation. Whenever possible, I always try to speak with homeowners about whatever rodent, pest or wildlife issue they are dealing with. This preliminary information helps me identify the problem, target my inspection, and find the best solution. Here, the homeowner told me that she saw a bird hovering around on the exhaust vents on the side of her home. Birds are attracted to exhaust and dryer vent ducts to nest because they are private places to lay their eggs hidden from potential predators and they like the warm air that flows through them. So, I already had a good idea of the problem.

As I inspected the exterior of the home to find the birds’ point of access, I came across a damaged plastic exhaust vent. Contractors debate plastic vs metal vent covers, and plastic has certainly become more popular in recent years, especially the new plastic resins like polypropylene. Unfortunately, there are also cheaper plastic vents installed that are prone to cracking and breaking down from exposure to the sun and the harsh outdoor elements. Over time, plastic exhaust vents can get beaten up pretty badly. Occasionally, when the fan turns on, the vent fins get stuck open, and that was the case here. As often happens, birds exploit the vent opening to build a nest inside the home. Damaged exhaust vents not only allow birds and other critters to gain access to your home but also allow moisture to come in, which can lead to mold and mildew problems. However, the biggest risk of all is the nesting material obstructing airflow and creating a fire hazard.

After carefully removed the nest, I sanitized and deodorized the vents with a solution that targets bird mites. Bird mites are parasites that feed on the blood of birds. When birds leave their nests, the mites are left behind without a suitable host for their next blood meal. They will make their way into a home, and once inside they will take over, climbing all over your walls, ceilings, and beddings. To make matters worse, bird mites are tiny and semi-transparent, so they are extremely difficult to detect.  Bird mites are the main reason why extreme care is needed when removing a nest. The last thing you want to do is disrupt the mites that are crawling in and around the nesting material. 

After removing all remnants of bird activity, I replaced the vent with a newer, upgraded exhaust vent with new fins. As added security, I placed a screen on the inside of the vent to prevent any more birds from attempting to access that area. Now, after completing this job, this home is bird-free with a new and improved exhaust vent. Best of all, there is a homeowner who is immensely relieved that her bird problem is gone!

Wildlife rip screen to gain access into home in Highlands

This homeowner in Highlands had wildlife gaining entry into his attic through a gable vent. The wire mesh screen covering the gable vents was damaged, most likely from the animals themselves. With the screen breached, they were able to gain access into the attic.

Homes are equipped with attic vents to provide efficient ventilation. They allow heat and humidity to escape from the attic in the summer and moist air in the winter. You’ll find vents on the underside of your soffits and on the home’s gables, which are the triangular portion of the outside wall of a house that comes to a peak between the edges of the intersecting roof pitches. Homes with a simple gable roof (two roof sections sloping in opposite directions that meet at the roof ridge), typically have gable vents at the two ends of the house, and sometimes over the garage. Homes with more ornate roof structures with multiple gables usually have multiple gable vents. While these vents are necessary for efficient attic ventilation, they often wind up being the “weakest link” in the roof structure for wildlife to gain access. Time and time again, our wildlife technicians have had to deal with infestations with wildlife that used a gable vent as their personal welcome mat to enter the attic. Once inside, wildlife can cause significant property damage. They can ruin expensive insulation and chew through wires, creating a fire hazard, and their droppings are a serious health hazard.

Two members of Cowleys home construction crew were sent in to do the exclusion work and make sure that, going forward, wildlife would be blocked from trying to re-enter the attic through this vent. We carefully removed the damaged screen and installed a new one.

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Cowleys Pest Services
1145 NJ-33
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
1-732-719-2717


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120 Stryker Ln Suite 206 A & B
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
1-732-487-3226


Cowleys Pest Services
391 Main St #103
Spotswood, NJ 08884
1-732-253-4105


Cowleys Pest Services
3490 US-1 Suite 107
Princeton, NJ 08540
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