Cowleys Pest Services serving Raritan, NJ

As we were checking up on the mice activity in our rodent bait station, we stumbled upon one that had a black widow in it and two of its egg sacs. Black widows are known for their  red-orange hourglass pattern on their abdomen, but only the females have them. Black widows use a silk-like substance to weave tangled-looking webs, typically close to the ground in covered or dark places, such as near drain pipes or under logs. Black widow eggs sacs can be recognized for their grey and spherical appearance, and are generally around 9 millimeters in diameter. Each egg sac contains an average of 255 eggs inside! Their venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than that of a rattlesnake! Fortunately, they only bite humans when they are disturbed.

We’re going to apply a knockdown liquid application directly to the black widow & its egg sacs. This treatment will rapidly exterminate them. After that, we will perform a crack and crevice treatment around the entire exterior of the building with a residual application that is specifically labeled to eliminate spiders.

Recently, we were sent out on a service call to a condo in Raritan, NJ to treat for termites. The owner had reported seeing termite damage by the back sliding door. As we investigated, not only did we find termite damage by the sliding door, but we also found termite mud tubes. We also found more termite damage in the utility room.

Since termites live beneath the soil and enter your property below the ground level of the dirt, for an effective treatment, we must drill into the concrete in the utility room, by the back sliding door, and around the perimeter of the condo. When drilling, it's imperative that we space the holes at least 15-18 inches apart. This ensures that the liquid application has room to spread out and increases the chance that the termites will walk through the application. Next, we injected a liquid termiticide that binds to the treated area and creates a protective zone that the termites cannot detect. The termites will come in contact with this treatment as they go about their normal routine, bring it back to their nest, and spread it among the colony. In a short amount of time, the termites will be exterminated and the condo will be protected from termites for many years to come.

During a spring treatment for a new Home Protection Plan client in Raritan, NJ we noticed several piles of rat droppings around the shed that was about 20 feet from the home. We took a closer look and found even more fresh rat droppings around a hole that lead underneath the shed. We reported our findings to the owner who had no idea that he had a rat problem! For good measure, we thoroughly inspected the home to see if the rats made their way inside. Fortunately, after concluding our inspection, they did not.

To handle the rat problem, we installed several Ready-to-Use rodent bait stations near the hole and around the shed. Next, we installed several snap traps that are inside temper-proof, child resistant boxes near any opening underneath the shed. Lastly, we scheduled several follow-up visits to monitor the rat infestation, apply any additional treatments, and replenish the bait stations as needed.