You may think that since you cannot get into your chimney, animals won’t either. You need a ladder, safety harness, and a little moral support to get onto the roof and to get a look at the chimney opening. However, animals can get onto the roof with no problem. It’s important to remember that anything that can get onto your roof can also get into your chimney.
An uncapped chimney is a welcome sign to critters, big and small such as birds. Some of these animals will leave on their own, some will die inside your chimney, and others will stay until they decide to leave. The best thing for your chimney and home is to prevent animal entry into the chimney by having a proper cap in place. If you do have an animal problem, call Chesapeake Chimney & Co. We can help!
The Problem With Animals in the Chimney
There are pretty good reasons to keep animals out of your chimney system. Many species of animals in North America are small enough to gain access to your home through the chimney. Birds, for instance, can get past a closed damper and into your home. If they don’t remove them, and they stay in the flue itself, they leave behind bird droppings, feathers, nesting materials, and more.
Mammals can also climb into the flue and then climb back out, but they can leave behind fur, droppings, and scratches from climbing. Scratches in the flue will change the air flows, and it will lead to soot and creosote buildup in the location of the scratches and accelerate corrosion of the liner. If the animal doesn’t leave on its own, you’re looking at removal—either of a carcass or live wild animal. Call our professionals for a humane animal removal service!
Humane Animal Removal
Surprisingly, we don’t only see animals in the chimney but also inside dryer vents. No matter where, if they’re inside, they don’t belong. We remove raccoons, squirrels, birds, snakes, and any other animal from homes in Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, Southern Anne Arundel, and Southern Prince George’s counties. After our animal removal, we’ll use our Chim-Scan technology to check the system for debris or damage left behind by the intrusion.
Chimney Swifts
While we can remove any animal from chimneys and homes, we cannot remove chimney swifts, which are federally protected. The chimney swift is a common chimney intruder, which is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. If these little birds gain access to your chimney system, they cannot be removed or bothered until they leave. This may be for the entire nesting period, which can take up to 90 days, but they will leave on their own and leave no harm to the chimney. If you have a nest of chimney swifts in your flue this summer, it’s important to call and schedule a chimney sweep before fall.
Think you have some uninvited guests in your chimney this summer? Call the team at Chesapeake Chimney today at 410-535-0052 for humane animal removal.
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