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Before and After Pictures from Little Silver
Gable Vent Gets Wrecked by Raccoons in Little Silver, NJ

Gable Vent Gets Wrecked by Raccoons in Little Silver, NJ

Before After
Gable Vent Gets Wrecked by Raccoons in Little Silver, NJ Gable Vent Gets Wrecked by Raccoons in Little Silver, NJ

A new customer in Little Silver, NJ contacted our Little Rascals Nuisance Wildlife Division after seeing a raccoon rip apart his gable vent and enter his home. Over time, the gable vents get weathered and dry rotted. This makes it easier for raccoons as well as squirrels to break into the home. 

After we safely removed and relocated the raccoons to a new, humane environment, we disinfected the attic area and removed the old, broken gable vent. We did offer to replace the gable vent, but the homeowner mentioned that he will fix it on his own at a later date. As a temporary solution, we installed Pest-Blok over the gable vent. Pest-Blok doesn't restrict the airflow to the attic, undergoes a silicone-protected polyester coating process that makes it last longer, and guards the home against raccoons, squirrels, pests, birds, and all other nuisance wildlife.

Squirrels Infiltrate the Gutters in Little Silver, NJ

Squirrels Infiltrate the Gutters in Little Silver, NJ

Before After
Squirrels Infiltrate the Gutters in Little Silver, NJ Squirrels Infiltrate the Gutters in Little Silver, NJ

A property manager of an apartment complex in Little Silver, NJ, called Little Rascals for assistance after his maintenance team found several squirrels in one of his tenants' attic. When we arrived, we started thoroughly inspecting the exterior of the building and noticed squirrel hair near the gutters. We took a closer look and determined that the squirrels were entering the unit via the builders gap. A builders gap is the gap between the fascia board, where the gutter is hung, and the roof decking. It's caused when roof decking is stopped too short and isn't flush with the fascia. The gap is meant to help with airflow throughout the attic, but also presents an opportunity for squirrels, as well as raccoons, birds, and bats, to infest the attic.

There was one area of the fascia that was chewed out by squirrels, so we installed a one-way device over it, temporarily enclosed the area with hardware cloth, and set up several baited devices nearby. The one-way will allow the squirrels to safely leave the attic but prevent them from getting back in. A short while later, we successfully retrieved all the squirrels and relocated them to a new, humane environment.

To prevent any future infestations from squirrels, or any other nuisance wildlife, from the building we installed Pest-Blok over the builders gap. Pest-Blok doesn't restrict airflow, undergoes a silicone-protected polyester coating process that makes it last longer, and guards the home against squirrels, pests, birds, and all other nuisance wildlife.

Raccoons Find Entrance into Little Silver, NJ Home

Raccoons Find Entrance into Little Silver, NJ Home

Before After
Raccoons Find Entrance into Little Silver, NJ Home Raccoons Find Entrance into Little Silver, NJ Home

Little Silver, NJ homeowners found themselves with a family of raccoons (a mom and her two babies) that had taken up residence in their attic. The mom, looking for a quiet area to build a den for her kits, was able to gain entry through an opening in a boxed eave. These particular eave returns at the corner end of the roof fascia are informally referred to by builders as pork chops. “Porkchop” eaves are quite common. They are easy to build even though, aesthetically, they aren’t considered the most elegant design (hence the name). With these returns, the raking fascia is built flush with a triangular piece that covers up the end of the rafters and merges with the soffit below.  

With this opening in the soffit, the raccoon had free reign to come and go as she pleased to forage and care for her babies. To remove the raccoons, I made what wildlife techs like to call an “eviction ball,” and placed it into the soffit. The objective is to encourage the raccoon to vacate the premises and move on. ideally, we want them to enter a trap so we can relocate the animal to a safe area. My hand-made eviction ball happened to be a tennis ball. I drilled a hole into it and filled it with a raccoon eviction (repellant) fluid. This fluid, a thick, creamy paste, is a natural by-product of a male raccoon. The solution is a mixture of urine and other scents. The males are a predator to females during their birthing period,. To a mom raccoon, the smell of this fluid is a major warning sign that her young are in serious danger. A male (boar) raccoon will kill the baby kits in order to assert their genetic dominance. A sow that has lost her kits will go back in the heat and can then be re-impregnated by the male. Raccoons are one of a number of animal species that practice this type of infanticide. It’s one of the more gruesome scenes that a wildlife tech can come across, and one that I prefer to avoid. 

In addition to the eviction ball, I placed two baited traps on a lower roof. I put some tape over the roof opening to monitor raccoon activity. In this case, the mother wound up taking her kits and vacating the attic. She avoided entering the traps. After ensuring that there was no more wildlife in the attic, I framed out the end of the soffit and attached a new piece of metal flashing to cover up the hole. With the attic now sealed, this homeowner should not be visited by any more raccoons.

 

Company Awards
Cowleys Receives the Golden Osprey Award for Business Excellence
We are incredibly honored to receive the Golden Osprey Award from the Jersey Shore Chamber of Commerce for the Business... [Read more]
Cowleys Voted Best Places to Work in n NJ for a Second Year in a Row
We are honored to be named to the 2022 Best Places to Work in New Jersey list by NJBIZ magazine... [Read more]
Cowleys Wins Asbury Park Press's 2021 Best of the Best Community Choice Awards for Monmouth County!
Cowleys Services has been voted Monmouth County's BEST of the BEST 2021 Pest Control Provider by the Asbury Park Press!... [Read more]
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Little Silver, NJ Pest Control Services & Expertise

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Little Silver, NJ Expert Pest Control Company

Here at Cowleys Pest Services we not only adhere to the highest pest control standards, our goal is to provide you with an excellent experience and service in Little Silver and nearby NJ.

From your first phone call through treatment and follow-up we at Cowleys Pest Services pledge to give you great customer service while fixing your pest problem.

Since 1991, we have been treating a wide variety of pests, bedbugs, insects and rodents -- just contact us to get more details on your home or building's issue. Take advantage of our expertise to get rid of unwanted pests or animals in your Little Silver, NJ home.

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At Cowleys Pest Services we also have pest control plans where we routinely inspect your home or building and apply needed solutions ahead of developing a recurring pest problem. Our pest service plans have different levels too, to best suit your needs that you can change over time if needed. From our Green Service Plan to our Platinum Service Plan, we'll keep your home pest-free.

Business & Home Pest Services We Offer in Little Silver:

  • Bedbug Extermination
  • Flea Control
  • Termite Control
  • Pest Control
  • Exterminators
  • Rodent Control
  • Ant, Beetle, Spider, Insect Control
  • Tick Control Services
  • Pest, Bird and Animal Control Services 
  • Attic Insulation Services
  • Gutter Guards
  • Crawl Space Encapsulation
  • Expertise and Technical Know-How to Fix Your Pest Problem
  • Financing Available
  • Written Estimates and Inspections
Case Studies From Little Silver
Hornets
Recently, I went on a service call for a homeowner in Little Silver, NJ who contacted Cowleys after finding a hornets' nest by the back door of her...
Dehumidifier
Today, the Mold Solutions team was dispatched to a home in Little Silver to service a Sanidry XP dehumidifier that we had sold and installed. There...
Mud
An ice cream store in Little Silver was plagued by mud dauber nests that were built all over its exterior. It was not a pretty site. Mud daubers...
Job Stories From Little Silver, NJ
Spotless Home in Little Silver, NJ Has Bed Bugs

"But I keep my home spotless, how could I possibly have bed bugs?"  

As a bed bug specialist for Cowleys, I hear those exact sentiments from virtually every homeowner who is suffering from a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs are often lumped together with cockroach infestations and are associated with dirty, unsavory places where there is poor hygiene and sanitation. Nothing can be further from the truth. Let’s be clear: Bed bug infestations have absolutely NOTHING to do with filthy kitchens or cluttered, dirty homes. You could be the Martha Stewart of clean, organized homes and still wind up with a nasty bed bug infestation. The reason is simple. Beds bugs are external parasites that feed exclusively off human blood. They don’t care whether your home is clean or dirty. All they are interested in is having a reliable, dependable food source — which is you! If you happen to have been somewhere were there were bed bugs and a few crawled onto you or your belongings, which you then unknowingly bring into your home, you will be the next victim of a bed bug infestation. Even bringing in a single bed bug into your home will trigger a full-blown infestation in just a few weeks.

With this particular bed bug job, I arrived at a beautiful home in Little Silver, NJ and was met by a sweet-as-could-be homeowner who was waking up in the morning with mysterious bites on her arms.  She had suspected that it may be bed bugs because she could not think of any other possibilities, but still did not think it could be possible. After all, her home was immaculately clean, and as the saying goes, her home was clean enough to eat off the floor. For this homeowner, having bed bugs seemed too far beyond the realm of possibility.

She informed me that the only time she is bitten is when she’s in her bedroom. So, that’s the “hot zone” where I started my inspection. If there is one word to use to describe a proper bed bug inspection, it is thoroughness. You can’t assume anything other than bed bugs can potentially be hiding anywhere and everywhere in the smallest nooks and crannies.

First, I slowly removed the blankets and sheets from the bed. You have to remove bedding slowly and carefully. Ripping everything off the bed will turn the blankets and sheets into a slingshot, catapulting any bed bugs into every corner of the room. The first rule of any bed bug treatment is to do no harm by further dispersing the bed bugs.

At first glance, as often happens, there were no bedbugs to be found. However, persistence is the key. I next lifted the mattress and box spring right in front of the homeowner. And there they were in all their glory! She was horrified. Since I’ve seen bed bug infestations many times before, I’ve become a bit desensitized to these insects. Bed bugs in all the different stages of their lifecycle were roaming beneath her box spring, less than a foot from where she was sleeping. It’s no wonder they were feasting on her at night. This is a case of what I would consider a very severe bed bug infestation. And it did not matter that it happened to be in a very clean home.

While a clean home will not prevent bedbugs,  it will certainly make the treatment and eradication much easier than dealing with an infestation in a home full of clutter. The less harborage areas, the better. When a home such as this one is clean and not cluttered, there are very few hiding spaces for the bugs, making it easier to resolve the problem. I’ve been in homes where there were a dozen shoes lying around the bed along with old magazines and various knickknacks. In those cases, all I can think of are the many potential hiding places for the bed bugs to exploit. 

For treating bed bugs, the best course of action is to first vacuum up all of the live activity, and, if the homeowner wants the bed removed from the home, to encase it first so the bugs don’t drop off as it is being moved. I  grabbed my HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) vacuum and sucked up all of the live bed bug activity.  Once I vacuumed all of the live activity, I installed mattress and box spring encasements to seal these prime bed bug harborage. Encasements are critical for stopping any hidden bed bugs from exiting and preventing any new bugs from entering. After applying a light chemical application to all of the harborage areas, I placed the mattress and box spring back onto the bed frame.

The two major lessons of this bed bug job for any homeowner are: (1) A spotless home can still have a thriving bed bug infestation (and it’s not your fault!); and (2) periodically lift and check underneath your mattress and box spring to see what may be lurking below. The sooner a bed bug problem is found and a professional bed bug service is contacted, the easier it is to treat.

 

Spotless Home in Little Silver, NJ Has Bed Bugs - Photo 1