Hazlet, NJ Pest, Bird & Animal Control Company

Rodent infestations, whether rats or mice, are one of the most serious infestations faced by homeowners in terms of both property damage and health risks. These foraging animals contaminate food and food surfaces, and they can spread diseases through their toxic droppings, particles of which can become airborne. They also gnaw and chew through drywall, insulation, wiring, and even the clothes hanging in your closet! Why do these rodents infest our homes? Besides an ever-shrinking natural habitat, when temperatures drop, they look for shelter, warmth, food, and water for their very survival.  

Homeowners in Hazlet Township, NJ found themselves with a rodent issue and contacted Cowleys. Upon arrival, I conducted a full inspection of all areas of the home, including the attic, basement, kitchen, and around the home’s exterior foundation. We look for droppings and other signs of rodent activity to determine where they’ve been and how they are moving about. Here, I did not find much activity until I pulled out a drop ceiling tile. This was where the bulk of the action was going on. The mice were traveling about out of sight, literally right over the homeowners’ heads. 

I installed rodent bait stations with slow-acting bait. On the two-week follow-up visit, I re-inspected all areas, replenished the bait in the rodent stations as needed, and sealed the openings around the home to prevent any re-infestations.

A store manager couldn't find the entry point where mice could be coming into his store and feeding on  the fresh vegetables they had on display. They called the rodent detective team at Cowleys to lend an expert eye. It didn't take me very long to find the huge gap that was only ten feet away was the front door. 

As you can see in the photos,there are a large gap on the bottom of the entry door and exit door. The gap size is at least 1/2 to 3/4 inch. We discussed exclusion options and the manager decided to install door sweeps on the doors himself.

Recently, I was sent to a home in Hazlet, NJ, to resolve a carpenter bee infestation. Homeowners will often find these large bees hovering around the outside of their homes searching for mates and favorable sites to construct their nests. At first glance, they resemble bumble bees, but carpenter bees have a bare and shiny black abdomen while that of the bumble bees is hard with yellow markings. After mating, the fertilized female carpenter bee excavates galleries in wood to deposit her eggs. A common sign of a carpenter bee infestation are deposits of “frass” beneath the entry hole. This is what we call the sawdust-like material produced from their tunneling. Their holes appear to be perfectly round and about a half-inch wide. These bees seek out bare, unpainted woods that are often weathered and soft from water damage. Painted and pressure-treated woods are much less susceptible to nesting. With these infestations, common nesting sites around homes include eaves, window trim, fascia boards, siding, wooden shakes, decks, and outdoor furniture. These bees return to the same sites year after year expanding and reusing existing tunnels and building new ones.  

While carpenter bee damage is usually not nearly as extensive as termite damage, it can still be considerable and a major headache for homeowners to fix. The holes allow water seepage into the wood and some homeowners will wake up to the sounds of woodpeckers pecking away at the wood to reach carpenter bee larvae, one of their favorite foods!

To show the damage that these bees can cause, before starting treatment, I took photos of the bees’ nesting/excavating activities around the front door and side fascia boards.

Often, homeowners will contact Cowleys because of a bad smell. Odors can be a sign of a mold problem. Sometimes, unusual smells are an indicator of wildlife activity. You’d be surprised how much one tiny rotting mouse carcass behind your refrigerator or some other appliance can stink! 

A homeowner in Hazlet, NJ, contacted us because of a bad smell coming from her basement. As soon as i walked into the house, I knew there was something going on downstairs. It was a putrid smell. I started my inspection. At first I could not figure out where the smell was coming from. I checked behind the false walls and the unfinished areas of the basement and even checked behind the drop ceiling. Nothing. I noticed that there  was a refrigerator in the corner and thought that it may have turned off by mistake and there was food rotting in there. As I got closer to the fridge, the smell become worse. And then I saw something on the windowsill — a pack of fish. My first thought was that the homeowner was just thawing out some fish for an upcoming meal. However, this did not smell like anything that I’d want to eat. I touched the package and it was hot. This fish had been sitting out for quite awhile. You did not have to be a fishmonger to know that that this fish had long since spoiled and was now stinking up the entire home. 

The homeowner was a little embarrassed, and I told her not to be. We sometimes get calls that turn out to be “false alarms”  or that the problem was not what the homeowner thought it was. That smelly fish could have easily turned into an attractant for insects, rodents, or wildlife. It is far better to call us and have us come out for an inspection than to ignore a problem and hope that it will go away. Most problems don’t self-resolve. 

I was recently sent to a condominium complex in Hazlet, NJ for which Cowleys handles all of their pest control needs, both periodic preventative inspections and treatments as well as being ready to handle any active pest infestations as needed. On this particular visit, I was called to the complex in order to treat and remove a wasp nest that had formed in an entryway. 

Upon arrival, I found an active paper wasp nest attached to the soffit above a stairway that led into one of the units. These particular insects are called paper wasps because of the paper-like material they use to build their nest which is made from chewed up wood fibers that they mix with their saliva. They are sometimes called umbrella wasps because of the distinctive shape of their nests. Their nests have open combs with a stalk that anchors the nest to some structure.

Paper wasps are not as aggressive as yellow jackets or baldfaced hornets, and their colonies are much smaller. Nevertheless, there was a potentially dangerous situation because these wasps are still social, territorial insects. They can and will sting if they feel that their territory is being invaded and their nest is being threatened. 

I was fortunate that at the time of this servicing during the cooler fall temperatures, the wasps were very sluggish and not interested in a fight. I used my telescopic bee pole to carefully remove the nest. After removing the nest, I spot treated the area to prevent any wasps from re-establishing a new nest. 

I was recently sent to a home in Hazlet, NJ to remove an active baldfaced hornets nest. Baldfaced hornets, a type of aerial yellowjacket, build large nests for their every-growing colony. As the colony continues to expand, their nest keeps growing larger as well. The nest has an outer paper-like covering that they make by chewing wood into a wet pulp with their saliva. To accommodate the additional combs and cells, they will tear down the old walls of the nest to create new ones. These insects stay busy foraging for food and constantly making new additions to the nest. 

The larvae feed on flower nectar or chewed up insects supplied by the foraging workers. The adults are carnivorous predators. They’ll consume meat, spiders, ripe fruit, tree sap, and a variety of other insects. Since they eat other insects, baldfaced hornets are beneficial to humans in some respects. The problem is that they are territorial and highly aggressive. So, if they happen to build a nest on or nearby a structure where people are moving about, there is too great a risk of a wasp attack to not treat the infestation. These wasp attacks can be quite dangerous since an individual wasp can sting multiple times, and for those who are allergic to the venom, it is a serious life-threatening medical emergency. I’ve been stung by both bees and wasps, and from my personal experience, a wasp sting is far more painful. 

Out of curiosity, once the nest was dormant and I was able to remove it, I decided to crack it open to look inside and see what activity was going on. As you can see from the photos, the inside of the nest consists of layers of cells, shaped a bit like a pie plate, with each layer slightly smaller than the previous one. Each of the cells contains a developing larva. The queen lays an egg in each little “cubby hole,” and the larvae (grubs) will hatch in a few weeks to become worker hornets. 

These wasps use their venom to kill other insects. They just happen to sting us if they feel their nest is being threatened. If you happen to come across one of these foraging wasps that is away from the nest, they have very little interest in people and it is highly unlikely that you’ll be stung. When I opened up the nest I saw quite a number of cicada killers, which is a popular insect “food” for wasps. In fact, there is one type of wasp that enjoys eating cicada killers so much that they are called cicada killer wasps.

I was recently sent to a law office in Hazlet, NJ  to treat an ant problem. Upon inspection, I discovered odorous house ants around a window frame. These ants are called odorous ants, because they emit an unpleasant smell if you crush them. These particular ants are attracted to wall voids and other hidden protective areas. The foraging ants will eventually enter rooms through gaps around window frames and even making their way through wall switch plates. Usually, these ants are found in higher moisture areas of buildings like kitchens and bathrooms where they forage for food (especially sweets!) and water. 

To treat this infestation, I drilled a few 1/8-inch holes into the window frame in order to inject an aerosol treatment into the wall void. The treatment definitely hit the ant nest. Ants were pouring out if the window frame, and soon died. Next, I treated the building’s exterior where I had found an ant trail going up underneath the siding. I treated the foundation with a liquid application and followed up with a dust that I puffed under the siding. Whenever I’m faced with an ant infestation, I give it “full court press,” thoroughly treating both the interior and exterior. This way, the ants have nowhere to hide, and so I’m sure to eliminate the nest. This way, the treatment is a one and done proposition. Whenever I’m finished treating an ant infestation, I’m confident that the ants are gone for good.

The attached photo shows how I drilled and treated into wall void to reach the nest. To eliminate an ant infestation, it is crucial that you kill the nest and the queen. Just killing isolated foraging ants that you see roaming about will not permanently resolve an ant infestation.