Before & After Photos

This property manager of an adult community in Hamilton Township, NJ recently had an issue with squirrels destroying their main office building. Previously, we safely retrieved the squirrels and relocated them to a new, humane location, but the damage they did was quite extensive! They literally chewed out the crown molding on the window! Fortunately, we can not only safely remove the invasive wildlife, we can repair the damage they inflict as well!

First, we measured the crown molding and then cut sturdy, metal flashing to the measurements. Next, we installed it, secured it in place with screws, and sealed it in place with a waterproof, premium adhesive. We offered to paint the area so that the material blends in with the crown molding, but the property manager told us that his maintenance team will do that. Now that the area is repaired, the community will no longer have an issue with squirrels or any other nuisance wildlife invading the office. 

A residential customer in East Windsor contacted Cowleys because of an on-going issue with skunks. We all know the major problem of skunks: the pungent smell of their spray. Here’s a free wildlife technician tip: If you or your pet are sprayed by a skunk, vinegar or tomato juice will mask the smell until it fades with time.  Another recommended home remedy is mixing a quart of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup of baking soda, and 2 tablespoons of dish detergent. It’s best to discard your clothes — getting out the skunk smell out of your clothing is more trouble than what it’s worth, and you don’t want to go out on the town smelling like “Pepe Le Pew.” 

Besides their spray, skunks can also destroy lawns. Using their long front claws to dig in soil, they are expert insect hunters.  For homeowners, seeing chunks of grass peeled back is a disturbing sight. Lawns that have a heavy infestation of grubs (beetle larvae) often wind up with a skunk problem. Skunks will dig up lawns to go after the grubs. Fortunately, here, there was not any lawn damage. During the winter, while skunks don’t actually hibernate, the stay in their dens and become inactive, eating little and sleeping a lot. 

When I arrived at her home, the homeowner was quite upset, and rightfully so. She explained that she how has had a skunk problem for a while. Another nuisance wildlife company had come out there, but the technician failed to trap a single skunk. Based on her description, they set the wrong traps and used the wrong bait. Peanut butter is not the universal bait to trap any type of nuisance wildlife. For trapping wildlife, a good wildlife tech will try to bait traps with whatever the target animals are used to feeding on at that location. Wildlife is surprisingly smart and cautious, and are wary of new food sources in an area.

After listening to the homeowner’s frustrating saga that had gone on for far too long, I came up with the best solution. Just because skunks have sprayed does not mean that that they are hanging around. In fact, skunks hate that smell just as mush as we do. A skunk will never spray another skunk, especially a member of his own family. Rather than setting traps and waiting, I wanted to give this customer a faster solution, especially since the skunks were localized to a specific area under her deck. My plan was to exclude skunks and other wildlife from entering under her entire deck by installing heavy-gauge metal mesh behind a beautiful white lattice that would give the deck a better appearance. I would also installed a temporary one-way exclusion that would allow the animals to get out, but prevent them from returning. Once I knew there was no more wildlife under the deck, I’d then install the final piece of fencing. The homeowner was pleased that, with this critter control barrier in place, she would not have any more unwanted visitors under her deck again.

Recently, we went out on a service call for a homeowner in Plainsboro Township, NJ who contacted Cowleys for a groundhog issue. As the homeowner was fixing a post in his deck, a groundhog peaked his head out! Needless to say, this scared the daylights out of the homeowner. Groundhogs are outdoor rodents that build their homes underground. An adult groundhog is an herbivore with an immense appetite, eating 1-1 ½ pounds of vegetation a day. As a groundhog prepares for hibernation by consuming even more food, there may be considerable damage to a home.

As we began inspecting the exterior of the home, we found several burrows around the deck area. A groundhog burrow is a marvel of animal engineering. These underground homes run two to four feet beneath the surface and range from eight feet to more than 60 feet long, with multiple exits and rooms. A burrow is usually equipped with two or three entrances, each of which is 10”-12” wide and marked by excavated soil. Groundhogs even build separate chambers in their burrows to serve as bathrooms!

To eliminate the problem, we dug 10 inches down and 10 inches out from the deck and installed hardware cloth around the perimeter. After installing the hardware cloth, we then placed lattice over it. This will to make it aesthetically pleasing to look at and adds an extra level of reinforcement to keep animals away. Over by the main access point, we placed a one-way exclusion device to allow any groundhogs that may be hiding under the deck to come out. A one-way exclusion device is a device that allows a critter to safely exit the harborage spot and prevent them from getting back in. Finally, we backfilled over top hardware cloth and up to the bottom of the lattice. We scheduled a follow-up inspection to monitor the harborage areas and, once the home is free of groundhogs, seal up the final piece of lattice and hardware cloth.

A Cowleys wildlife control team was dispatched to a home in New Egypt. This homeowner had a family of raccoons that had nested in his attic, apparently for quite a long time. 

Fortunately, there was no longer an active infestation — the raccoons were long gone. However, the attic was a toxic mess from all their urine and droppings. While the pungent odor of animal waste wafting through your house is a problem, the real concern is the health hazard.

Cowleys wildlife control technicians are trained not only in trapping and excluding wildlife from homes and commercial buildings, but also in safely sanitizing and deodorizing those areas that have been infested.

Recently, we were contacted by homeowners in Millstone Township, NJ who decided to have a dehumidifier installed in their basement as a permanent long-term solution to their chronic humidity problem. High moisture environments in crawl spaces and basements invites mold, insects, and even structural damage to the home. 

The readings on our hygrometer, which measures the humidity (amount of water vapor) in the air, confirmed that this basement had an unacceptably high level of humidity. Homes require an acceptable range of humidity for our comfort and health, and air that is too dry or too wet can be the source of problems for a home’s occupants. Our homes are most comfortable at humidity levels between 30 - 50%. Almost always, the problem with basements and crawl spaces Is too much humidity. High humidity levels can cause condensation on windows, wet stains on walls and ceilings, musty odors, and over extended periods of time, wood rot and structural damage. humidity levels rise above 55%,  a home is ripe for mold growth. Mold spores attach to wet or damp surfaces,  consuming whatever organic material that it grows upon. 

Based on the size (cubic volume) of the basement and its humidity level, we recommended a SaniDry XP commercial dehumidifier. We only install SaniDry commercial-grade dehumidifiers. These machines are specifically designed and manufactured for the challenging environments of basements and crawl spaces. Generic residential dehumidifiers simply aren’t up to the job. For example, the SaniDry XP is a powerful energy-efficient dehumidifier that outperforms standard household dehumidifiers by as much as 10 times while using the same amount of energy to run. The SaniDry XP can effectively cover indoor living spaces over 3000 square feet, making it well-suited for basements and crawl spaces over 40” high. 

The most important difference between a residential dehumidifier and a SaniDry commercial dehumidifier is its ease of use and automatic operation. A residential dehumidifier requires human intervention to empty the pan of collected dehumidified water. If not timely emptied the pan will overflow and the machine usually huts off once the flow bucket is full. Our commercial dehumidifiers direct the extracted water pulled out of the air into either a sump pump or, if a sump pump isn’t present, a small condensation pump that pumps the water through a 1/2” condensate hose that runs to the outside of the basement. For this installation, we needed to drill a 1/2” hole through the foundation wall to run the hose outside. The installation went off without a hitch.  Now, this basement will no longer have chronic humidity issues. The home will be more comfortable and the risk of dangerous mold growth has been removed.