Before & After Photos

Recently, a homeowner in Lincroft NJ, contacted Cowleys because of raccoon activity in the upper dormer area of the home. Raccoon weight can vary considerably with habitat, but they generally weigh around 20 pounds, making them one of the largest nuisance wildlife that we deal with on a regular basis. These nocturnal animals are extremely intelligent, resourceful, great climbers, and with their human-like five-finger forepaws, they are amazingly dexterous. A determined raccoon will find a way to get into your attic, especially when the female is looking for a quiet, private nesting area to give birth to her kits. Raccoons, especially protective moms, are territorial and can be vicious when confronted. They are also the major rabies vector in New Jersey. 

With nuisance wildlife infestations, we always determine how the critters are gaining access into the home. Because of the size of raccoons, their entry point is generally pretty obvious. Here, the raccoon was entering through the fascia area right below the roofline. Fascia boards are often exploited by wildlife because they are often weakened from water damage from the roof and gutters, and the outdoor elements. Raccoons can easily tear through these materials to gain access to the attic.

After ensuring that there were no pups inside the home, we set up traps and repaired the damaged fascia by framing in the hollowed-out area and then installing new fascia material. When we were done, the home looked as good as new!

Recently, I was dispatched to a home in Holmdel, NJ that was having a problem with some “large wasps” that had taken up residence, of all places, behind the slats of a hot tub. Upon, arrival, I immediately determined that these homeowners were dealing with a European hornet infestation. These are one of the larger stinging insects that we regularly encounter. They can grow to about one inch long, making them one intimidating stinging insect! Because these insects have some yellow in their markings, they can be easily  confused with yellow jackets. However, they are much larger, thicker insects than the slender yellow jacket. Also, unlike yellow jackets, European hornets usually has some orange in their coloration. Like all social wasps and hornets, European hornets are aggressive and territorial if they perceive that they are being threatened. As far as stinging insects go, both yellow jackets and European hornets are similar in that they both have nasty temperaments and won’t hesitate to use their stingers. 

Unlike baldfaced hornets, paper wasps, and other stinging insects, European hornets rarely build suspended nests attached to tree limbs, roof eaves, and other locations in plain view. Instead, just like they did here, these insects usually build their nests inside a hole or cavity. The location of their nests can make them difficult to reach and treat. Sometimes, these hornets will enter homes for shelter, finding entry point through eaves and vents where they then form nests, commonly in wall voids and in attics.  

Here, I promptly located where these hornets were nesting inside the hot tub. First, I treated the nest with a dust that quickly knocks down the population. After waiting until I observed no more active insect activity, I successfully removed the nest. As shown in the photo, the nest was broken into numerous pieces because I had to pull the nest out piecemeal from inside the hot tub. Since the nest was cracked open, you can clearly see the hundreds of combs inside the nest that housed the hornet larvae. I collected all of the nest pieces, bagged them, and took everything with me so there was no remaining nest debris. Now, these homeowners can resume the use of their hot tub without feeling threatened by these large stinging insects.

The birds were using this broken dryer vent as shelter and were building a nest inside it! Fortunately, when we inspected, the birds had moved on, but we still had to be careful when removing the nests! 

First, we carefully removed the nesting debris and deodorized the vent with a solution that targets bird mites. Birds mites are blood-sucking parasites that can invade a home once birds have left their nests. If disturbed while removing, bird mites will make their way inside and quickly infest the home.

Next, we installed a DryerWallVent®. The DryerWallVent’s large opening and angled damper provide maximum airflow efficiency for the safe venting of the dryer. Integrated magnets keep the damper closed when the dryer is not in use, keeping pests and elements on the outside. 

A new customer in Colts Neck, NJ called our office after finding a large yellow jackets nest in the attic of his detached garage. As we inspected the attic we found the large, and active, yellow jackets nest tucked in the corner! For treatment, we injected a knockdown aerosol application, waited several moments, and then injected a knockdown dusting application. Both of these applications rapidly exterminate the yellow jackets. 

Once they were eliminated, we removed the nest, disposed of it properly, and cleaned the area. 

This story brings me to Pine Beach, NJ. Our professional inspector was called out to a house about the massive amount of birds roosting on this home’s roof. When we arrived, we found a lot of birds sitting on top of the roof. This evidently was a constant problem. After speaking to the homeowner, we proposed using Shock Track as well as installing a Bird Flasher on the pilings around her dock area where more birds were congregating. 

We installed Shock Track to the roof ridge. Shock Track is a great product that runs off a solar box, keeping it always active. It sends out a small zap to the birds when they land on it, teaching them that they no longer can use this home as a roosting spot. After we finished, we installed 10 Bird Flashers on the pilings. Bird Flashers give off an inferred flame that only the birds can see.

We showed the home owner the exclusions we installed and she was extremely happy and “shocked” as well to see how fast our job worked. We followed up with her after a couple days and she was happy to say that no birds are on her roof.