Cowleys Pest Services Before & After Photos

Recently, we went on a service call for a homeowner in SeaGirt, NJ who had an issue with moisture in his crawl space. Moisture can seep into the crawl space through poor circulation or from the foundation walls and can lead to a number of problems, such as mold and mildew growth. As much as 40% of breathable air in your home comes up through the crawl space. Which means if mold exists in your crawl space, the unhealthy air circulating through your home can cause health problems for your family.

Once we arrived we began our inspection in the crawl space and discovered that the wooden door leading into the crawl space was rotted, damaged, and not closing properly. This was allowing not just moisture into the crawl space, but pests as well. Crawl spaces can also become a dwelling for pests if not properly maintained. Once pests enter your crawl space, they can follow heated air ducts, water pipes, and electrical wiring into your home and cause additional health issues. 

Continuing our inspection we noticed that homeowner had a dirt floor crawl space and there was an excessive amount of garbage and debris scattered throughout the crawl space. Dirt floor crawl spaces attract and absorb moisture. When the dirt dries, it causes humidity levels to rise in your home. After a thorough inspection, we determined that this was the cause of the moisture build-up in the crawl space.   

The best treatment to remove the moisture from the crawl space is to install a vapor barrier. A vapor barrier is a super-durable, 20-mil 7-ply plastic sheet material made up of high and low-density polyethylene with polyester-cord reinforcement. The vapor barrier resists the passage of air and by stopping air movement from the ground, it can also turn your crawl space into a semi-conditioned space – one that is close to the temperature of the living spaces above. When that occurs, your floors feel warmer in winter and your energy bills go down.

First, we removed all the sharp rocks and debris, which may puncture the insulating plastic, from the crawl space and then graded the ground to create a leveled surface. Next, we anchored the vapor barrier to the walls and placed it on the floor. We also installed an Everlast™ door to replace the damaged wooden door. An Everlast™ door is made from ½-in.-thick PVC plastic that will never warp, crack, shrink, require maintenance or painting and will prevent any unwanted pests and moisture from entering the crawl space.

With the new vapor barrier and everlasting door in place, the moisture levels in the crawl space are greatly reduced which will prevent mold and foul odors from growing and forming.

After setting up our rodent bait stations to get a handle on the mouse infestation at this home in Sea Girt, NJ, we're returning for a follow up visit. After we replenished the bait in all the stations, we stuffed all the access points with chew-proof metal mesh. Rodents typically don't like chewing through metal because it's extremely uncomfortable for their teeth and gums. Next, we sealed all the openings with a premium, waterproof adhesive. The combination of the two materials makes for a great deterrent. We'll return for a few more follow-up visits to monitor the mice infestation and replenish the bait stations as needed.

This customer in Sea Girt, NJ, had a fox nesting underneath her front porch, so she called Little Rascals for help and we were sent out. After setting up our retrieval devices, we safely obtained the fox and relocated it to a new, safer location. All that's left is to exclude the porch to prevent any future fox intrusions.

First, we dug a 12 inch deep trench around the entire porch and installed hardware cloth. The hardware cloth is installed 12 inches deep and 12 inches out from the bottom of the home. This creates a sturdy "L shaped" perimeter that will prevent foxes and other nuisance wildlife from digging and nesting underneath the home. Afterward, we removed the broken lattice around the entire porch, installed new lattice around the area, and placed more hardware cloth over it. Now the area is properly excluded from all future fox, and other nuisance wildlife, intrusions.

This homeowner in Spring Lake, NJ had ants all over her kitchen counter, so she called our office and we were sent out to inspect and treat. When we inspected the interior, we found some ant activity on the kitchen counter, but nothing too large. It wasn't until we went outside and found ants trailing from her garbage cans into the kitchen. The homeowner immediately started to clean out hr garbage cans and move them away from her home.

In the meantime, we applied a gel bait to the ant trails on the kitchen counter and treated the baseboards, cracks, and crevices in the kitchen and the two adjacent rooms with a liquid non-repellent. Afterward, we went outside and applied a granular bait to the grassy areas and then treated the entire exterior with a liquid residual. The ants will bring any of these treatments back to their nest and share them throughout their colony.  A short while later, the ants are extreminated.

Recently, a homeowner in Spring Lake, NJ, contacted Cowleys because a hornet nest had formed on the soffit of her home. It was built fairly high up, so it wasn’t a major threat. Hornets can be aggressive and territorial and will attack if their nest is threatened. Here, there wasn’t much traffic around the nest and everyone was a safe distance away. The homeowner’s concern was that the hornets would gain access inside the home through the attic. To avoid this and any other issue with these stinging insects, I proceeded to remove the nest.

Hornet nests have an entry hole where the foraging wasps enter and exit. I watched their flight pattern in and out of the nest and set up my extension ladder on the opposite side of their activity. I had no interest in meeting these wasps head-on! I climbed the ladder and treated the nest with an aerosol that quickly knocks down the population. I then waited until the wasp activity dramatically slowed down. I reached by nest with the bee pole and gave it a good wack to knock it to the ground so that I could bag it and take it with me off the property. The homeowner was relieved that this nest was removed off her property. There are some people that have no tolerance for stinging insects, and this homeowner was one of them! I was glad to help.