Looking for Rodents, but Found Ants in Jackson, NJ

I was recently dispatched to a home in Jackson, NJ after the homeowner had contacted Cowleys to determine if she had a rodent problem around her house. Even though the homeowner had not seen any rodent activity, a neighbor told her that she had found a mouse in her house. For her, even a next-door neighbor finding a mouse was too close for comfort! In a bit of her panic and for her own peace of mind, she contacted Cowleys to perform a rodent inspection and make sure that no mice had invaded her house. Upon arrival, I first inspected the home’s interior, paying particular attention to all of the nooks and crannies of the kitchen where mice often hide. Good news! There were no signs of rodent activity. While it is rare to find a live mouse scurrying about during the day, we will find tell-tale signs such as droppings, urine stains, and grease smears (where the mouses' body oils and dirt will rub off on the walls). 

Next, I wanted to take a good look at the home’s exterior perimeter to look for any indication of rodent activity around the home as well as any potential entry points for these overwintering pests.As often happens during pest inspections, while looking for the activity of one pest, we find some other unrelated pest issue that the homeowner wasn’t even aware of. Here, I discovered a huge any colony throughout her mulch bed, which was no more than 8 feet from her front door. The ants had pulled up all of the loose soil beneath the mulch to create a huge ant colony. While mulch can be an effective way to control weeds, it also provides great harborage for many pests to live and breed — pests that can eventually make their way into your home. Even worse than ants, earwigs, and other bugs, mulch also happens to be delicious termite food! The lesson for homeowners is that mulch laid too close to a home’s foundation is asking for trouble.

The ants had managed to build quite an impressive colony. Just imagine a super-sized ant farm, and that’s exactly what it looked like under the mulch surface. I told the homeowner what was lurking just a few feet from her front door. Needless to say, she was pretty shocked that she did not even notice this ant bunker.  I took care of this ant infestation by applying a non-repellent treatment around the home’s exterior as well as to any ant trails and hills that I could locate. These treatments are highly effective because the product works silently — the ants are unaware that they are even crossing it. The ants come into contact with the product and then carry it back and transfer it to the rest of the colony where the ants feed and groom each other. Just one ant going back to the colony can unknowingly kill hundreds of its brothers and sisters. 

Finally, for this homeowner, this hidden ant problem was enough. I did not have to sell her on signing up for one of our home protection plans where a Cowleys technician periodically comes out during the year to inspect for pest problems and perform preventative treatments. These home protection plans are like having pest control insurance. Homeowners are able to call us at any time for any covered pests, and we’ll immediately come out and treat the problem at no additional charge.