Jackson, NJ Pest Control & Attic Insulation Contractor

Recently, I went out on a service call for a new homeowner in Jackson, NJ who was having an issue with "jumping spiders" in his crawl space. As soon as I entered the crawl space I was greeted by a large infestation of camel crickets.

Camel crickets are those nightmare fueled pests that are most notoriously known as "sprickets" (spider crickets), which is incorrect because camel crickets aren't arachnids. Also, these pets cause no harm at all to humans and their only means of defense is that they jump at predators to scare them off. They typically reside in moist, dark caves, but when it comes to invading homes, moisture-filled crawl spaces or basements will do just fine.

I treated the sill plates with an aerosol application that eliminates the camel crickets almost immediately and then applied a granular bait throughout the crawl space. Finally, I applied a liquid residual along the entire exterior of the building and throughout the crawl space.

When the camel crickets come in contact with any of these products, they ingest it through grooming and feeding. Shortly after, they are neutralized. 

A homeowner in Jackson, NJ, a long-time customer of Cowleys, recently contacted us. She was fairly distraught because there was an out-of-control mice infestation in her kitchen. Mice were running around the kitchen cabinets and counters, leaving their tell-tale droppings everywhere. Once temperatures start to drop in the fall, we start to get more calls for mouse infestations. These rodents “overwinter,” that is, they seek out locations for warmth and shelter so that they are not directly exposed to the harsh outdoor elements. Mice do not have the fat reserves or the ability to hibernate like other animal. There very survival depends on finding a warm location over the winter where they have access to food and water. And our homes are an easy choice. We offer them everything they want, and usually it’s not too difficult for them to gain entry through gaps or cracks around the foundation. Mice only need an opening about the size of a dime to squeeze through. 

Some feel that mice are harmless and we should just let them be. However, a mouse infestation is  serious health hazard. Mice inevitably find they way to the kitchen because that’s where the food is. They can chew through cereal boxes and other cardboard containers contaminating food. Mice can also carry ticks and fleas into the home. Finally, their droppings can contain many dangerous pathogens that transmit serious, even life-threatening, diseases to people including hantavirus and histoplasmosis. When mice droppings dry out, microscopic airborne particles can be released in the air and inhaled by the home’s occupants. You do not even need to directly touch the rodents urine or droppings to get sick.

Upon arrival, I started my inspection. With a mouse infestation, the most important part of the inspection is to identify any actual or potential entry points. To do this properly, the technician must be systematic and thorough. Mice usually enter through gaps or cracks around the foundation to enter the attic and crawl space, and then travel through wall voids throughout the home. Often, like with this infestation, they forage for food in the kitchen.  Here, I located large openings under the kitchen sink where the water supply was entering the cabinet from underneath. These pipes were coming in through the basement and was the likely route used by the mice between the basement and the kitchen.

I sealed these gaps around the pipes with a copper, chew-proof mesh material. It is liable and easy to form a complete seal around the pipes. After blocking their kitchen access, I set up a bait station for any mice that may still be around. I’ll return in two weeks for a follow-up to reinspect and see if there is still active rodent activity. During these follow-ups, I replace any depleted bait and take whatever additional steps are necessary until the infestation is resolved. Homeowners cannot tolerate overwintering mice in their homes. The health risk to family members is simply too great.

When I was first assigned to this particular wildlife job at a golf course in Jackson, NJ, I was reminded of that classic 1980 film “Caddyshack.” The comically deranged Carl Spackler, the assistant groundskeeper for an exclusive country club, played by Bill Murray, is tasked with stopping a gopher infestation that is destroying the course. One particularly destructive, elusive gopher outsmarted him at every turn (and even whimsically poked its head out of its burrow to dance to the movie’s theme song, the Kenny Loggins song, “I’m Alright.”) Frustrated Carl tries to shoot, drown, and even use dynamite to kill the gopher, all without success.  That’s where any similarity to Caddyshack ends! Unlike Carl, professional nuisance wildlife technicians use only proper and humane trapping techniques to capture the invading animals — no shooting, no drowning, and, certainly, no explosives! 

This Jackson, NJ golf course was invaded by groundhogs. Like gophers, they are burrowing rodent capable of causing extensive property damage.  Gophers and groundhogs are often confused. Gophers are, by far, much smaller than groundhogs. While gophers only weigh a few pounds, groundhogs can grow to ten pounds or more. Also, gophers have thin rat-like tails, while groundhogs have bushy tails similar to squirrels. Perhaps, most important, is what they have in common. All burrowing rodents are wild animals, no matter how “cuddly” they may look. Even Punxsutawney Phil and all of the other groundhogs that are displayed on GroundHog Day are not pets. They are wild, biting animals. These rodents will become aggressive when cornered or threatened, and their powerful biting jaws and sharp claws can cause serious injury. Groundhogs are also a rabies vector species in New Jersey and must be approached and handled with caution. 

From past experience, this area in Jackson, NJ is known for having high groundhog populations. This job was not the first time we were called out to Jackson to deal with groundhogs. A common issue we face with high nuisance animal populations is “trap-shy” animals. If an animal has had a close call with a trap but managed to escape, they learn from the traumatic experience, and they’ll do their best to not be tricked into entering a trap again. It’s that old saying — fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Since it is next-to-impossible to get trap-wary animals into traps the conventional way, even when enticed by their favorite, most irresistible foods used as bait, we instead use a special trap that can be placed directly over a burrow hole. This trap will secure the animal, no matter which direction it is traveling, the first time. Essentially, they enter the trap involuntary, and by not giving them a choice, we are able to trap the critters before they even know what’s up! This method of direct trapping over entry/exit points is highly effective — whether it is a burrow opening for excavating rodents like moles, voles, gophers, and groundhogs or openings used by more aerial critters such as squirrels and raccoons to gain access to attics and other structures.

I’ll be back to check the traps in a few days., and I also told the groundskeeper to contact me immediately as soon as a groundhog is caught. I’m confident that these nuisance groundhogs will be trapped shortly and their days of digging up the golf course are numbered. I won’t stop until this property is free of these burrowing, property-damaging rodents.