Wildlife Removal Before & After Photos

Squirrels were harboring in the attic of this home in Atlantic Highlands, NJ and we were sent out to safely remove them from the property. After inspecting the exterior of the home, we discovered that the squirrels were able to get inside by chewing through the exposed fascia.

In order to safely remove them, we installed a one-way device over the main access point and temporarily enclosed the area off with hardware cloth. We also set up a number of retrieval device close by. The one-way device will allow the squirrels to safely leave the attic, but prevent them from getting back in. In fact, a short while after setting up, we retrieved all of the squirrels and took them to a safer, humane location. 

We then removed all of the hardware cloth, disinfected the attic, and installed sturdy metal flashing over the entire fascia board. This will prevent the squirrels, and any other nuisance wildlife, from getting back into the attic through this area.

This Brielle, NJ homeowner had a raccoon enter the attic through the soffit. The soffit is the underside of the roof overhang. It is commonly made out of aluminum or vinyl and has passive vents providing much-needed ventilation and air circulation to the attic and expelling the rising heat, which causes all sorts of problems both during the summer and the winter. Unfortunately, soffits, especially if they are damaged, are a favorite access point for wildlife to enter your attic. Raccoons and squirrels are innately able to find and exploit the weak points into a home, and soffits are at the top of the list of favorite entry points. 

Cowleys wildlife technicians had already come in to trap the raccoon, and immediately afterwards installed a temporary patch to seal the area. However, the homeowner wanted a more aesthetically pleasing repair. Cowleys has a home improvement division that, among other things, has an experienced crew that repairs damages caused by wildlife, termites, and other insects. The homeowner was quite pleased with our repair of his home, and so were we! 

A homeowner who resides in a residential community that we service in Brielle, NJ, noticed mouse droppings in his utility room and contacted the property manager, who relayed the problem to us. I was immediately dispatched to resolve the rodent infestation. Mice are overwintering pests that look to invade our homes to escape the harsh outdoor elements as temperatures drop. 

Upon arrival, I grabbed my flashlight and started my inspection in the basement. Rodents often find their way first into a home’s basement or crawl space before finding their way to the living areas of the home, especially the kitchen where they forage for food. Suffice it to say, once your home has mice, they won’t hesitate to make themselves at home, depositing their droppings everywhere and crawling all over and under every counter and appliance in your kitchen. My primary concern during a rodent inspection is finding potential entry points. I conduct a thorough inspection of the sill plate where utility, water, and electric lines of through the sill to the outside. Often, I find gaps in these areas, and it doesn’t take much of an opening. A mouse only needs a gap of about 1/4”, or the size of a dime, for them to squeeze through. Cowleys technicians emphasize and proactive exclusion for the long-term elimination of rodents in a home. It’s all well and good to set bait traps to get rid of the mice in your home, but you also need to locate and seal all of the entry points to stop more mice from making themselves at home.

During my inspection, I located two utility lines from the AC unit where the caulking had deteriorated, leaving a gap for mice to enter the home. These problem gaps were a definite entry point for mice and they needed to be closed. I sealed these gaps around the utility lines with chew-proof copper mesh. After I was done, no more mice would enter this particular home. Going forward, if these mice want to stay warm in a home, they’ll need to bother someone else!

While doing an inspection at a home in Asbury Park, NJ, we were approached by a frantic neighbor on the verge of tear. She said, "Please, sir, please. You have to help me. There is a giant bat on my back screen door, I've called 3 people to come and remove it. They all want several hundred dollars just to come out and remove the thing. I'm on a limited income and I don't know what to do. I just can't afford it." 

Without hesitation, we put on our protective gloves, went with her to her back door, removed the bat, and gingerly placed him in the nearest tree.  We can't vouch for the emotions of bats, but he seemed as happy to be out of the house as the poor lady was to have him taken out. It was a win-win situation for all.

She asked if she could pay us $50 because that's all she could afford. We didn't take a dime from her and told her that after that traumatic encounter, she deserves to use that money to go out for a nice, quiet dinner and calm her nerves.

Cowleys is a business, but we've been working here long enough to know that we're also about doing the right thing. Her gratitude was more than enough compensation for the few minutes that it took to remove the bat. She told me that I was her hero. Before that encounter, we never thought of my Cowleys uniform as a superhero outfit, but right then and there, we felt pretty good about ourselves and were proud to be a Cowleys technician.

Cowleys was contacted by a homeowner in Ocean that had a groundhog problem. At least one pesky, destructive groundhog was burrowing under his backyard shed causing damage to the wood. Groundhogs (woodchucks) are one of the most damaging pests that can invade your yard. Besides wrecking havoc on your lawn from digging their burrows and leaving unsightly holes and mounds of dirt all over, they have voracious appetites. Groundhogs will feed on just about any flower, fruit, vegetable, or plant that you’ve been growing on your property. With a groundhog infestation, all that time and money your spent on improving your lawn can be gone in an instant. Also, groundhogs can also cause damage to your home’s foundation if their burrowing activity is right around your home. To make matters worse, once these large rodents have settled on your home as their new residence, they are amazingly persistent about staying there. 

I was dispatched to this Ocean residence to inspect the area around the shed and determine the best strategy to capture the animals. Upon arrival, I went to the homeowner’s backyard to inspect around the shed and observe the aftermath of their destructive behavior in the yard. The groundhogs were free to come and go from multiple areas around the shed. There was no clear pathway that they were taking to gain access under the deck. Rather than setting up traps in arbitrary locations and hoping for the best, I dramatically improved the odds of a successful capture by installing one of my favorite products in our wildlife control arsenal to trap burrowing invasive animals, “Dig DeFence” underground fencing. “Dig DeFence” is a trenchless underground permanent barrier made of heavy galvanized steel. It’s a much better alternative than burying hardware cloth or repeatedly setting up traps. It can be installed around foundations, decks, sheds, yards, and any other location where groundhogs and other burrowing animals are a nuisance.

For pet owners, this product is of great help as well. It can be used to keep your pets from trying to dig out of the yard underneath your above-ground fencing, and it works will all fence types — wood, wrought iron, or chain link. Especially for homeowners with next-door neighbor dogs that want nothing more than to sniff each other face-to-face, this below-ground fencing will keep them apart, hold your fence down, fill any gaps. Besides keeping your pets out, it will prevent a variety of unwanted “ground level” wildlife from entering your property and causing damage. It’s particularly effective for keeping out skunks, opossums, raccoons, porcupines, and, of course, groundhogs.

With this Ocean home, I used the “Dig DeFence” to aid in trapping the animals. I blocked about 90% of the perimeter around the shed so the animals would automatically be funneled towards my traps. I installed one-way traps by the remaining openings. I’m confident that that, within a day or so, the groundhogs will be trapped. Once they are caught, I’ll relocate them away from the home. After the groundhogs are trapped and there are no more underneath the shed, I’ll seal off the remaining areas. 

Living in a wooded area of Ocean, this homeowner will always be dealing with nuisance wildlife in his yard. It’s one of the tradeoffs of living with nature. However, this underground fencing will go a long way to prevent future problems. The homeowner was quite pleased that the groundhog problem around his shed would be permanently resolved and that he would not have to worry about repairing ongoing damage caused by these animals.