Types of Animals that Could Nest in Your Chimney
There you are, sitting with the family in the living room when all of a sudden you hear a noise in your chimney. Maybe it was just leaves, right? You light a fire and you hear a sound and the panic of something trying to get out…what is going on?! Well, you just may have a critter taking up residence in your flue. The real question is what type of animal can get into your chimney?
First and foremost, the only way an animal can get into your chimney is if you do not have a chimney cap. All things considered, these are very inexpensive and a must have for any homeowner with a working fireplace. In addition to stopping animals, the cap also prevents debris and water from getting into the chimney and causing structural damage. But, I digress, let’s figure out what is in that chimney!
Chimney Swifts are a likely inhabitant, as they migrate and live in chimneys during the offseason. Because federal law protects these birds, you are unable to do anything to clean out the chimney until the birds leave the chimney.
In addition to chimney swifts, other flying creatures, such as bats, owls and a variety of other birds, would be more than happy to take up residence in an open chimney. If an animal entered the flue while the damper was open and it is now closed, you will more than likely hear wings’ furiously flapping as it tries to figure its way out of this entrapment.
Raccoons often use chimneys to get out of the cold and will nest in there if allowed. Unlike many other types of clawed creatures, raccoons are usually able to get up and down the chimney with relative ease. On the other hand, animals like squirrels can get into the chimney, but have a quite a challenge getting back out. You will often hear panicked scratching sounds as they try to figure their way out of this conundrum.