Animals In Chimney
If you have an uncapped chimney it’s almost a sure thing that at some point in your chimney’s life an animal will find it’s way into your chimney. There are a few common animals that get into chimney’s including raccoons, squirrels, bats, birds snakes, and of course chimney sweeps.
Some of these animals even prefer a chimney to make its home in, which can be a pretty big problem if you aren’t wanting to sublease your beautiful home.
There are 4 common reasons:
- Chimney Swifts will often build their nests inside of your chimney. They migrate from South America each year to make nests and have babies.
Chimney Swifts are federally protected birds, and the only birds with the ability to fly straight up. Because of this they are able to exit the chimney without assistance, but after they have children they will stay inside of your chimney for months, only leaving to get food, until their young are able to fly. - Mother raccoons will also use the chimney to give birth to their young. After birth they stay for awhile because of the protection until their babies are old enough to go out on their own.
- The burnt smell on the inside of your chimney smells similar to the environment of a burned out tree, which is natural habitat for raccoons.
- Snakes will enter your chimney, but only in search of a quick meal. They enter and search for eggs, baby birds, and even small squirrels. Snakes are only predators inside of a chimney, but can pose problems if they decided to come out through the fireplace.
Your Options Are:
- The animal is rescued by a professional, unharmed. This is the ideal situation, causing no harm to the animal, and potentially saving the home owner hundreds on repairs that would come from ignoring the issue. Sometimes these wild animals can do damage to the structure of your chimney.
- If the chimney’s damper (this separates your fireplace from the rest of your chimney), the animal will make it’s way int your home. This is a scary situation, the animal can cause property damage and potentially spread diseases to your family.
- If ignored, the animal will likely remain trapped and eventually die from either starvation or suffocation. We don’t even consider this to be a legitimate option. Not only is it inhumane, but it will also leave the home owner with a more serious problem following the death. Not only will the odor begin to spread throughout your home, but the animal’s carcass will begin to attract large numbers of insects, often leading to a serious infestation inside of your chimney.
When it comes to your fireplace and chimney, ARC Chimney Sweeps of Biloxi, MS is the best option. Give us a call today at (228) 207-6572 and set up your appointment.