Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

A homeowner in Monmouth Beach, NJ, a small beach community at the Jersey Shore contacted Bird Solutions By Cowleys because of a serious nuisance bird problem. This homeowner, who lived right on the water, had seagulls anding on his roof, depositing their prodigious waste everywhere. Because of the location of the home, the roof was a perfect spot for the birds to roost and nest, and these high structures help them stay on the lookout for food and predators. Gulls are attracted to human habitats because they are opportunistic scavengers that will consume virtually anything.

Seagulls are protected migratory birds. Should these birds become a nuisance on your property, it’s all about setting up deterrents on your property to create a hostile environment for them. The objective is simple: You want the birds to “voluntarily” abandon your property and move on elsewhere. Because gulls nest in coastal regions, they are quite common along the Jersey Shore, and they often become one of the biggest bird nuisances for homeowners who live in Monmouth Beach and our other coastal towns. These birds eat far more than aquatic life. They are  In their search for food, when not in parking lots or garbage dumps, they are often attracted to roofs and other high structures. These are safe sites for them to roost and nest, and it gives them a great vantage point to stay on the lookout for food and predators.

Their droppings can cause significant property damage. Their thick white paste contains acidic uric acid, which is strong enough to dissolve shingles and sheathing. It can easily disintegrate roofing materials enough to cause roof leaks. Also, birds nesting in drains and gutters can block water drainage and lead to dangerous standing water on the roof. 

Because bird droppings contain parasites and other pathogens, they are also a serious health hazard. They are attracted to waste sites, eating garbage containing sewage or medical waste. They can transmit these pathogens in their droppings. That alone is a good reason to not have gulls hanging around your home.

A two-crew team from Bird Solutions carefully installed approximately 1700 bird spikes on the peaks of his roof. The photos show the “before and after” of the spike installation. Without a place to land, the birds soon give up and look for a more hospitable place to land. For these birds, there is no shortage of places to “hang out.” Effective bird control lets them know that your home is off-limits.

The Monmouth Beach homeowner was pleased to finally have these gulls vacate his property. Sea gulls are a potential nuisance in any coastal community. However, it is not something that homeowners have to tolerate.

A homeowner in Deal, NJ had a “builder grade” metal crawl space entry door installed when the home was built. This door was definitely a contractor money-saver item — and it showed. Over a few years, the door failed to stand up the the wear-and-tear of the outdoor elements. When we arrived, the door was rusted out and rotted. It wouldn’t even close. This crawl space entry point was trouble waiting to happen, and we were surprised that wildlife had not yet exploited this weak spot and visited the crawl space. This was an open invitation. 

The homeowner knew that Cowleys had a specialized contractor division that handles a variety of crawl space improvements, up to and including full encapsulation. He contacted us for a replacement. We had the perfect item  — a customized Everlast door that’s specifically designed for crawl spaces. 

With this installation, the homeowner now had a crawl space door that would block rodents and possibly bigger critters like skunks, squirrels, and raccoons from gaining access and using the crawl space as their private nesting area.  Also, for homes with crawl spaces, homeowners have more to work about than just wildlife entry. These below-grade areas are notorious trouble spots for mold growth and other water-related issues, and these doors help do the job. Of course, there are other ways that water and moisture can infiltrate vented crawl spaces, but this door was an important start. 

Our installers love these Everlast covers because of their flexibility. They can be installed against wood framing or masonry, work exceptionally well, and have great aesthetics, blending in perfectly with the home’s foundation. These doors are made of a “bulletproof” hard durable plastic. Unlike wooden or metal crawl space covers, they don’t rot, warp, crack, or rust, and never need to be painted.  

Even though these covers form a tight seal over the crawl space access, they are super-easy to open for those rare occasions when homeowners or repair persons require entry. The door has four large, easy-to-grip knobs that twist off without a hitch. The door comes right off, and you’re in. 

The homeowner was quite pleased with the installation. With this small crawl space improvement, the crawl space now had a cover that actually worked. As an added benefit, the outside of the home looked much better.

A homeowner in Brick Township, NJ had water entering the crawl space area through the entry door. The homeowner was concerned about standing water in the crawl space, and rightly so. Stagnant water in the crawl space can trigger mold growth and is a major attractant for insects, rodents, and all sorts of nuisance wildlife. 

Even though the homeowner had a well-sealed entry door, rainwater was nevertheless still seeping in. To remedy the problem, we installed a Bilco StackWEL, a window well, to serve as a second barrier to prevent water entry. The Bilco Company manufactures a variety of USA-made specialized doors that are highly regarded in the building industry.  

By preventing standing water in problem areas around the foundation, and crawl space vent doors often top the list, you can prevent water seepage into the crawl space. These window wells are made of durable PVC (high density polyethylene), so they don’t warp or rot, and are corrosion resistant. These wells also have a grip-step design so it makes it easy to enter and exit the crawl space access area. We also dug a shallow trench, about one and one-half feet and installed a layer of stones that would collect water and filter it into the ground instead inside the crawl space. 

It may seem unusual to install a window well around a crawl space door. After all, we think of window wells installed around basement windows! In that situation, the well around the window — that semi-circular “dig-out” in front — has to be supported by some materials or the hole or well in the ground will eventually collapse. It is the exact same rationale why retaining walls are sometimes necessary. However, window wells can also serve the same purpose with below-grade crawl space doors where the home’s foundation is built in such a way where water is directed toward the crawl space door. 

As you can see by the before and after pictures. the aesthetics of the crawl space access was greatly improved after our installation.  With this second barrier in place and the placement of the stones to filter the water away from the foundation, the crawl space water intrusion issue was successfully resolved.