They’re called “pests” for a reason, and be they bats, squirrels, raccoons, or anything else, we want to keep them out of your chimney. Certainly pests are carriers of  nasty things like mites, ticks, and disease, but pests in the chimney can be downright disastrous for your home and family.

Most animals cannot get out of a chimney once they’ve gotten themselves in. Raccoons can enter and exit chimneys and are known to build nests in them. Other animals – squirrels and birds, for example – will likely die since they cannot escape the space. This can leave animal bodies and nesting materials blocking your flue, and here’s where things have the potential to get dangerous.

The purpose of chimneys is to provide a vent for the products of combustion from the home. Carbon monoxide is a product of combustion (often produced by a furnace or other heating appliance) that quickly becomes lethal if not properly vented. Tasteless, odorless, colorless, carbon monoxide is responsible for hundreds of deaths in American homes every year. A blocked chimney flue is often what causes this improper ventilation.

Remove and Defend

Protecting your chimney’s ventilation comes in two steps. The first is to check to be sure there are no animals or their nests blocking the flue. Homeowners can check the chimneys themselves or hire someone to remove the animals. It is imperative to be absolutely sure there are no animals present or any other blockages, because the second step will be sealing the chimney with a chimney cap.   

Capping the chimney is by far the most efficient way to keep pests out of the chimney, promising a clear ventilation route through your chimney flue. There are a few options when it comes to capping a chimney. The easiest route is a stainless steel chimney cap. These caps are equipped with wire mesh openings ideally sized to be too small for bats or other small pests and large enough to allow combustion products freely to leave the home.

Other options of protecting the chimney include ultrasonic devices that drive away birds and rodents (but there is nothing in place to stop debris or anything falling into the chimney) or a chimney screen (which requires checking yearly to be sure it is undamaged).

Keep those critters out with a capped chimney, and your and your entire family can breathe a little easier.

For professional help in the local area, call Critter Control of the Triangle at 919-382-0651 in Raleigh, Durham, Apex, Cary NC and other cities around Wake County.