Pests We Treat Before & After Photos

Summer is not only a busy time for us, but for insects as well. This is time of year when many insects are most active. They are at their population peaks and working hard to expand their colonies. Hornets in particular rear their heads (and stingers!) in the summer. During the summer, we see hornets busily doing their construction work. They build their nests not only in trees, but often on man-made structures as well. We will find their perfect hexagonal chambers attached to soffits, inside garages, attics, on window sills and door frames, attached to exterior walls, and pretty much anywhere they can attach their nest “building materials.” Hornets make their own nesting material by mixing chewed-up wood pulp from tree bark mixed with their saliva, forming an enclosed nest around the comb where the queen lays her eggs.

Hornets nests can grow quite rapidly, with a surprising number of hornets living in what we would consider cramped quarters. Often, homeowners don’t even realize that they have a wasp infestation until the nest grows to a decent size, especially if the nest is formed in an area of the home or surrounding property that isn’t visited too often. Often, by the time a Cowleys tech is called out to the home, the nest has grown to the size of a melon. Once these guys get going building their nest, they mean business. Nest sizes can double in just a week!

These particular homeowners in Toms River, NJ called us after discovering a hornet's nest that was built, of all places, on the side of a raised playhouse in their yard. Fortunately, no one had yet been stung, but this was a potentially dangerous situation. Hornets usually don’t go out of their way to bother anyone. The problem is when someone unknowingly walks into the path of foraging wasps. With kids playing around this structure, there was a high risk of a swarm of wasps stinging children. This nest was not noticed immediately because it was built pretty high up on the playground— about twelve feet up a side wall of the structure. 

To treat this hornet infestation, I used an aerosol pyrethrin application attached to an extension pole to access the nest. After spraying, I waited for about 20 minutes for the application to take effect. This product immediately knocks down the wasp population, and after waiting, there were no more visible wasps swarming around the nest. Now, with a nest that was substantially inactive (of course, there could always be a few live wasps still hiding in the nest), I removed the nest with a scraper attached to the pole. I then bagged the nest to take it off the property. Finally, I treated the area where the nest was attached that would help prevent the Hornets from trying to reconstruct the nest. 

This type of stinging insect assignment is very satisfying to me. When finished, I knew that by removing this nest, I likely prevented some innocent kids from being attacked by a swarm of hornets just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Recently, I was called out to help homeowners in Toms River, NJ, who were having a troublesome mouse infestation problem. As temperatures drop, rodents will seek to overwinter inside our warm houses to escape the harsh outdoor elements. Their very survival depends on it. The objective for a homeowner is to eliminate potential entry points into your home so they go elsewhere. Mice will find the tiniest gaps, cracks, and opening around the foundation to enter the basement or crawl space and once inside, they have no problems traveling through wall voids throughout the home, usually winding up in the kitchen foraging for food debris.

Conducting a careful exterior perimeter inspection, I determined how the mice were getting in. Mice only need an opening around the diameter of a dime, so you have to be systematic and methodical, inspecting every inch of the perimeter. Here, I found holes in the crawl space vents and access door as well as spaces in the garage door jambs (the trim around the perimeter of the garage door that helps keep out insects and small critters. Because this trim is exposed to the elements, they are susceptible to splitting, rotting or warping, creating an opening for pest entry. I sealed the openings with an expandable foam, and also set up some rodent bait traps in strategic locations. I set up a two-week follow up to re-inspect and check the bait in the traps to determine the level of rodent activity. With the access points blocked and traps set, this mouse infestation should be quickly resolved.

Recently, a homeowner residing in the coastal community of Belford, NJ contacted Cowleys because of a suspected mouse infestation. Upon arrival, I inspected the areas where there were rodent droppings. The size and shape of droppings contain a wealth of information (in addition to a wealth of pathogens and parasites!). As you’d expect, the size of the droppings is related to the size of the animal. A house mouse, which weigh less than an ounce, produce very small droppings, about the size of a grain of rice, and their droppings often have pointed ends. Rat droppings. Rats weigh many multiples more than a mouse, averaging 8 ounces or so, and not surprisingly their droppings are much larger and often have blunted, rounded ends. The holes I found were big enough for a rat. Although rats need a larger entry hole, it’s not by much. A mouse can enter a hold about the diaper of a dime while rats need a space about the size of a quarter. I told the homeowner the bad news that this was a rat infestation, but the good news is that this infestation would be resolved, and resolved quickly.

I started by cleaning up all of the droppings, which pose a serious health risk. When rodent droppings dry out, particles can become airborne carrying aerosolized viruses including Hantavirus, a potentially fatal respiratory disease. We can’t stress enough the dangers of rodent droppings in an enclosed area. They are a serious biohazard. After finishing up with cleaning the rat mess, I sealed the two entryways being used to access the living areas of the home, one in the kitchen and one in the closet. Because these holes were so large, I used hardware cloth instead of plugging the holes with copper mesh. 

Mice and rats typically enter homes through openings around the foundation, first finding their way into the crawl space or basement. From there, thy travel through wall voids to forage for food and water throughout the home. I located potential access points in the crawl space and also baited the areas where there were indicators of rodent activity. I’m confident that this rat infestation will be resolved quickly with their entry points sealed and the bait stations set up. There should be no more rodent activity in the home’s living areas. I scheduled a two-week follow-up to re-inspect, replenish bait as needed, and apply additional treatments if necessary. Before leaving, I assured the homeowner that there should be an immediate reduction in the quantity of droppings, and if not, to contact us immediately. Although rodent treatments work quickly, they are not instantaneous. It takes some time for those rats inside the home to be eliminated.

After finding a number of ants crawling all over his desk, this business owner in Brick, NJ called Cowleys for help and we were sent out. After finding them crawling over the carpet in the basement level office, we followed their trail to a window that was above the owner's desk. We examined the area and, sure enough, found the ants crawling all over the window and discovered that they were coming from the mulch bed. 

The natural decomposition of mulch creates a cool and moist environment that is the perfect breeding ground for ants and other pests. Additionally, the organic materials found in mulch are a natural food source for many ants and can aid in the development of larvae and eggs. We treated this area, the other mulch beds, and the entire landscape with a granular bait.

Once we finished with that, we applied a liquid non-repellant along the exterior of the building and, at the owners request, the baseboards and crevices around the inside of the office. The worker ants will bring these treatments back to their nest and then share them with the other ants in their colony and their queen. A short while later, the ants will be exterminated.

While treating this homeowners' property in Tinton Falls, NJ I discovered a large number of spider webs along with the columns on the front porch. Spiders are hunters, so if you see any in your home or their webbing around your property that means that they have a food source. By eliminating those pests, you’re eliminating the spider's food source and they’ll go elsewhere to find food.

With the homeowner's permission, I inspected the entire interior of the home to find any signs of spiders or any pests, to which I found none. I grabbed my broom and then dusted and vacuumed the spider webs. By removing the spider webbing, the spiders will get frustrated and leave that area. I also treated the columns, the front porch, and the exterior of the building with a non-repellant residual and sealed any gaps or opening around the property with a waterproof adhesive.