New Egypt, NJ Pest Control & Exterminator Service

Recently, I was called back in early October to a home in New Egypt, NJ that had been previously treated for a carpenter bee infestation in the front porch railing of her home. Carpenter bees are wood-boring insects. The female dig galleries into the wood to repost their larvae and, by doing so, can cause extensive wood damage. Every so often, there is a re-infestation, and of course, we will immediately return to treat the affected areas and resolve the problem for good. 

Candidly, on the way to this job, I was a bit skeptical of the homeowner’s claim of a re-infestation. I have been in this line of work for quite a number of years, and I’ve never seen or heard about active carpenter bee activity extending beyond the summer months this late into the year. But as the saying goes — never say never, especially when it comes to pest control. Insect behavior never ceases to amaze me, and once you think that you have them pegged, they turn around and surprise you. 

Upon arrival, the homeowner showed me what was clearly a small pile of “frass” — a sawdust-like waste product of the bees boring into the wood and nearby, a dead carpenter bee. Sure enough, the homeowner was right. Some carpenter bees decided to rear their ugly heads well after what anyone would consider active bee season. In the picture, you can see the white dust that we had applied into the boreholes to used to treat the initial infestation. Seeing the dead bee indicates the long life of this product. Clearly, the treatment was still working.

To treat the re-infestation, I inspected for new boring holes and applied to dust to treat those holes as well as the existing holes. I’m confident that that with this re-treatment and dropping temperatures, this homeowner should not be dealing with any more carpenter bees.

This New Egypt homeowner had chronically high indoor humidity levels in his basement. High humidity in below-grade areas of your home can lead to significant property damage. Ongoing dampness from humidity can cause the walls and foundation in your basement to rot, leading to structural damage. Also, excess air moisture can also trigger dangerous mold growth. Even when mold is not growing in your living spaces, air currents carry the mold spores everywhere throughout your home. This contaminated air is a health hazard for the home’s occupants, especially those with mold sensitivities or preexisting respiratory problems like asthma.

Dehumidification is the most important long-term preventative measure for removing excess moisture from the air and preventing condensation that may form on concrete walls, especially during the Jersey Shore’s infamous hot and muggy summer days. For this home, we installed a commercial-grade SaniDry CX dehumidifier that is specifically designed for crawl spaces and mid-sized basements. (For larger areas, the SaniDry makes an XP model.)  SaniDry dehumidifiers operate in temperatures as low as 40 degrees F, and are much more powerful than traditional dehumidifiers. If necessary, they have the capability of extracting close to 14 gallons of water per day at 80 degrees F. These dehumidifiers are maintenance-free and require no human intervention. They automatically, turn on and off using a built-in hygrometer that measures indoor relative humidity. They are connected directly into the sump pump or drainage system so there is no water tray to worry about. These humidifiers will maintain a maximum humidity level of 55%, and at these low levels there is not enough moisture for mold to grow. Homeowner feedback is overwhelmingly positive. We hear time and time again how great it is to have a home circulating with with crisp, clean, dry air instead of thick, smelly, humid air.

The Cowleys team also installed a condensate pump to remove the water that is pulled out of the air from the dehumidifier. To make the unit look more aesthetically pleasing, we installed this compact, unobtrusive dehumidifier so that the cords and discharge hose were concealed. 

The homeowner was pleased with our installation, and we are confident that once it’s up and running, he will be even more pleased. His family will enjoy improved indoor air quality, and his home will be protected against basement mold growth caused by high humidity levels.