Before & After Photos

Recently, I was sent to a homeowner in Princeton, NJ who was having a problem with yellow jackets. It’s bad enough when you see these nasty stinging insects flying around outside your home, but here, it was even worse. They had made their way inside one of the downstairs rooms.  

I needed to determine how they were gaining access inside the home, and start with an exterior perimeter inspection. I observed yellow jackets flying in and out of an opening in the siding. Yellow jackets are ground-nesters. They usually build nests inside cavities. Often, we find them in hidden locations such as rodent burrows, behind bark, or in hollowed-out  stumps. They also make use of man-made structures and will build their nests attached to eaves, or like here, behind siding. Yellow jackets are strong, hardy insects that are powerful enough to chew through drywall and even plaster, so they can make their way from wall voids into the living areas of home, a frightening experience for any homeowner, to say the least. These yellow jackets were likely nesting up in a ceiling or in a wall void, and a mature nest can grow to be quite large with several thousand members.  The little bit of good news was that, according to the homeowner, no one in the household was allergic to wasp stings. Nevertheless, yellow jackets are aggressive, territorial wasps. They often sting without provocation, and their stings pack a wallop. It was important to have this infestation resolved quickly.

I treated the opening with a highly effective dust that will be carried back by the foraging wasps to the nest, spreading throughout. The residual dust will continue to work for months, killing any emerging wasps. This hidden nest should be completely neutralized within a day, and this family will no longer have to worry about these stinging insects. 

Raccoons, although they walk on all fours like most mammals, have human-shaped paws with thumbs, not to mention razor-sharp claws. Because of their anatomy, these animals are amazingly good climbers. They are able to climb and walk on a much steeper roofs than we can. Unless you are a skilled rock climber, most of us regular folks have limited grip strength relative to our body weight, and none of us have a nice set of claws to dig into materials. 

This wildlife job for a homeowner in Kendall Park, NJ was particularly tricky, and it took some extra planning because of this home’s steep pitched roof. To make matters even more challenging, there wasn’t much  space between the house, and the ladder angle was a bit steeper than I would have liked. To solidly secure the ladder, I was able to ”foot” it right up against the bottom of the fence, so it would not "kick out" while I was on it.

Buttressed by the fence, this ladder would not budge on inch, and I had plenty of of security to work with my hands off the ladder without worrying about whether it would move while I was on it. I installed a “positive” set up. With this type of set up, any animal has no choice but to go through the trap, no matter if it's coming or going from the home. 

The raccoon was soon trapped, and I safely relocated him far away from any human habitats. After trapping the trespasser, I closed off the access into the home in order to prevent any further wildlife intrusions. All in all, this was a satisfying job with a great resolution and a very happy homeowner who could now enjoy his home without sharing it with a destructive raccoon!

We were called out to a home in Monmouth Junction, NJ for a mouse exclusion. This particular home was overrun with mice. 

I replaced her crawl space door with an Everlast vent cover to make sure mice can not enter. These covers, which can be installed against wood framing or masonry, not only block insects and wildlife from entering the crawl space, they also block out humid mold-forming air and moisture from entering. These aesthetically pleasing covers are made with a hard durable plastic that stand up to the worst weather conditions, and unlike wood vents, are completely maintenance free. Even though these covers completely seal the vents, they are easy to open should you need to access your crawl space.  All you have to do is twist a few large knobs, and you’re in!  

After years and years of dealing with a humid & wet dirt-floor crawl space, this homeowner in Monmouth Junction, NJ decided it was time to change this and encapsulate his crawl space! After speaking with one of our sales reps and discussing various options, he decided on a plan and we went right to work!

First, we removed all the debris, leveled the ground for proper draining, and installed drainage matting. This material is a dimpled plastic mat that allows all excess moisture to work its way over to the new sump pump we installed. Next, we installed a vapor barrier, which is a heavy-duty, 20-mil 7-ply sandwich of high and low-density polyethylene with a polyester-cord reinforcement. It's extremely durable, treated with an antimicrobial to prevent mold, and is installed over the foundation walls and floor to create a continuous air and moisture barrier.

Afterward, we installed SilverGlo™ on the walls of the crawl space, which is a waterproof foam insulation that seals the walls from outside moisture and humidity. Lastly, we installed a Sani-Dry Sedona commercial-grade dehumidifier. The Sedona directs the extracted water pulled out of the air directly into the sump pump and will control the humidity levels in the crawl space.

These homeowners in Allentown, NJ  had a partial basement foundation, that is, part of the first floor living space was built over a basement while the remainder was built over a crawl space. Partial basements can also be split between a basement and partial slab on grade. We often find partial basements with homes that have an addition built onto the original structure, but homes are also built with a partial basement to save on some construction costs. It is more expensive to excavate and construct a full basement than it is to build a crawl space or lay down a concrete slab.

With this home’s partial basement the homeowner’s wanted a sturdy, permanent, more aesthetically pleasing solution to separate these two foundation areas. They periodically had problems with insects, mice, and other pests in the basement area that were getting inside their home through the crawl space. In residential construction, crawl spaces are often considered to be the “black sheep” of a home. They often cause a lot of problems for the rest of the home, including pest infestations, water and moisture issues, and mold growth. Since crawl spaces are rarely visited, these “out of sight, out of mind” problems can fester for years before they become serious enough for a homeowner to take notice.

The homeowners contacted Cowleys since we have a specialized division dedicated to waterproofing and encapsulating problem crawl spaces, and they thought we could help. And they were right!  We came out to inspect the home, and recommended a quick, cost-effective solution that would work perfectly. We replaced the hardware cloth (which wasn’t really even a barrier at all between the two areas) with a customized Everlast door. These Everlast covers are usually installed on the outdoor entry point into the crawl space to completely block outside air and moisture from entering the crawl space. However, it worked perfectly here to separate the two sections of this home’s foundation. Made with a hard durable plastic, these doors can be installed against wood framing or masonry. They stand up to the worst weather conditions, and are completely maintenance-free. They are made out of a material that is impervious to water and any outdoor elements, so they will rot, warp, or crack and, unlike wood, they never need to be painted. From our experience, they are virtually indestructible. 

For these homeowners, this door did just the trick. They were pleased with our solution to their problem and our quick installation. The homeowners thanked us, and my partner and I were off to help our next customer!