Pests We Treat Before & After Photos

A homeowner in Holmdel, NJ was having issues with carpenter bees infesting the wood fascia boards in his house. Carpenter bees, large, shiny black bees, are destructive wood-boring insects. The female bee burrows into the wood to lay her eggs while the male hovers around nearby to protect the queen from any predators or other males. The tell-tail sign of a carpenter bee infestation is sawdust, commonly known as sass, collecting below the holes where the bees have bored into the wood. As this homeowner found out, besides the drilling damage from carpenter bees, the larvae attract noisy woodpeckers that drill holes along the bee homes to reach and feed on the larvae. Woodpecker activity results in long trenches and holes along the wood. Needless to say, after the cumulative effect of carpenter bee and woodpecker activity, a home can suffer quite a bit of damage. The damage is more than unsightly. The holes can allow water seepage into the wood, weakening it and causing wood rot which it, turn, can lead to other insect and even wildlife infestations. Squirrels and raccoons commonly exploit weaknesses in a home’s structure, especially damaged fascia boards, soffits, or roofing shingles, to gain access inside the attic.

These carpenter bees were persistent. After a few treatments, the bees and the woodpeckers would return. A permanent solution was needed to prevent these re-infestations, and Cowleys home improvement crew was called in. To repair the damage, we removed the damaged wood fascia and replaced it with a high-performance exterior cellular PVC trim. This material won’t rot, cup, split, twist, or warp, and carpenter bees, or woodpeckers for that matter, can’t drill into it. The new fascia looked great and blended in with the house. The homeowner was relieved that the carpenter bee infestation was gone, and he no longer had to listen to noisy woodpeckers chipping away on his home.

This homeowner in Colts Neck, NJ, had a major infestation of yellow jackets in one of her upstairs bathroom and needed help to remove them ASAP. So she found Cowleys online, gave us a call, and we were sent out to inspect and treat. As we examined the bathroom, we noticed that the yellow jackets were coming from a tiny hole in the bathroom closet. Since the attic was right above, we decided to inspect that area. As we removed a piece of insulation, we uncovered a HUGE yellow jackets nest! Turns out that there was a tiny hole in the attic that the yellow jackets were using to infest the home!

We treated the nest with a knockdown aerosol and a knockdown dusting application. Both of these treatments will exterminate the yellow jackets almost immediately. A short while later, we carefully removed the nest, disposed of it, cleaned up the area, sealed the hole in the bathroom closet with a waterproof adhesive, and then applied a liquid residual product to the attic area. This treatment will eliminate any remaining yellow jackets in the area as well as prevent them from rebuilding their nest. 

We were recently sent out to a home in Middletown, NJ, to treat for yellow jackets. Apparently, a swarm of yellow jackets was discovered as the homeowner was renovating the living room. Once we arrived, we equipped our protective bee suit, and began inspecting the living room. That's when we noticed the humongous yellow jackets inside the wall! Judging by its size, it's been there for quite some time!

For treatment, we injected a knockdown aerosol application into the nest, waited a few moments, and then injected a knockdown liquid application. Both of these treatments will quickly exterminate the yellow jackets. After a short period of time, we removed the large nest and properly disposed of it. Now the owner can safely continue with his renovations.

This property manager of a condo association in Tinton Falls, NJ called our office after her maintenance team found an active hornets' nest on the window of a vacant unit. Once we arrived a took a closer look at the nest, after equipping our protective bee suits, we identified them as bald-faced hornets.

Bald-faced hornets are social stinging insects that are a close relative to yellow jackets. The surface of their upper midsection almost looks triangular from the side, and they have white markings on their face. They are EXTREMELY aggressive and will not hesitate to sting anything that invades their space. What makes them even scarier is they have smooth stingers, which means they can sting over and over again, can actually sense vibrations in the air, and remember their invader's face!

We treated the nest with a knockdown aerosol and a knockdown liquid application. Both products exterminate the bald-faced hornets almost immediately. A short while later, we removed the nest, properly disposed of it, and cleaned the area.

One warm and sunny afternoon, this customer in Spring Lake, NJ, decided that it was a great day to go out and clean his gutters. However, as he was climbing up his ladder, he was attacked by several angry bald-faced hornets. He quickly got off his ladder and then spotted a soccer ball sized bald-faced hornets nest right next to the downspout, tucked away in the corner of the house. Since he was already a Home Protection Plan customer, he gave our Pest Control Division a call and we were sent out to inspect and treat. 

When it comes to treating anytime type of stinging insects extreme care is needed, especially with bald-faced hornets. They are one of the most territorially and aggressive stinging insects out there and will attack ANYTHING that comes close to their nest. Once we arrived, we equipped our protective bee suit, grabbed our extendable pole, attached a residual dusting application to it, and then injected it into the nest. This application rapidly exterminates the bald-faced hornets.

A short while later, we removed the nest, disposed of it, and then applied a liquid non-repellant residual to the area. This treatment will eliminate any returning bald-faced hornets as well as prevent them, and any other stinging insect, from building another nest.