You hear the sound of rustling in your chimney, or the chirping of birds coming from your walls. Or worse, you start to smell a rotting smell coming from your fireplace — An animal has become trapped in your chimney and died. Many homeowners worry about the possibility of birds or animals entering their chimneys. Too few take measure to keep birds, bats and wild animals from entering their chimney. Don’t take a risk; install a chimney cap — Chimney caps keep critters out of chimneys!
Are birds and animals in the chimney really a problem?
Birds and animals are naturally attracted to your chimney. For some animals, like squirrels, raccoons, swifts and bats, chimneys provide a warm, dark refuge from the elements. Other animals happen upon a chimney, make the mistake of exploring and become trapped. Once an animal is in your chimney, they can cause damage to the chimney liner. They also can build nests that block your chimney, preventing smoke from escaping and causing a fire hazard. Birds and animals in the chimney also have the potential to introduce bacteria into your home. A trapped animal trying to find its way out just might find its way past your chimney damper and into your home, where it can cause chaos and damage and even injure your family or pets. Animals can also introduce all sorts of odors into your home. They can leave behind food scraps that rot, build smelly nests or even become trapped and die. The best way to protect your home from potential problems caused by an animal intrusion through the chimney is to keep animals out of your chimney from the start.
Keeping animals out of your chimney with a chimney cap
The easiest, cheapest, and best way to keep out critters out of your chimney is to install a chimney cap. When it comes to keeping animals out of your chimney, not all chimney caps are created equal. To keep critters out, you must install a sturdy chimney cap that is surrounded on all sides by metal caging that is small enough to prevent, birds, bats, chipmunks and other small pests from accessing the opening of your chimney flue. Keep in mind that not all chimney caps are designed to keep critters out of your chimney flue as well as rainwater; some are only designed as small roofs to shelter the chimney flue from precipitation. Look for a chimney cap that’s specifically designed to keep birds, bats and animals out of the chimney flue.
When it comes to dealing with animals in the chimney, it’s far better to prevent the problem by blocking your chimney off from animals in the first place. Keep critters out with a chimney cap! Call Total Chimney Care; we can recommend a chimney cap that will protect your chimney from birds, bats and pests, and we will install it securely to fully protect your chimney from an animal invasion.