Animals in Your Chimney: What Bartlett Homeowners Should Do

If you hear scratching, chirping or rustling in your chimney, do not light a fire and do not try to smoke the animal out. Close the damper, identify what is living up there, let a wildlife professional handle any live mammal, and then have the flue swept, inspected and capped so it cannot happen again.

Lighting a fire to drive animals out is the worst move

A fire under a nest usually kills whatever is inside rather than chasing it off, and the nest itself is dry twigs, leaves, fur and droppings sitting in the flue. That material ignites easily and can carry flame into creosote higher up. A packed nest also chokes the draft, so smoke and combustion gases roll back into the room. Leave the firebox cold until the chimney is clear.

The sound usually tells you who moved in

Most chimney visitors in the Bartlett area fall into a few groups, and each one is handled differently:

• High-pitched chattering at dusk, late spring through summer: almost always chimney swifts, small birds that cling to the inside of masonry flues.
• Heavy thumping, chirring or growling, often in spring: a raccoon, frequently a mother using the smoke shelf as a den for her young.
• Quick scurrying during the day: squirrels, which tend to fall in and struggle to climb back out of a smooth liner.
• Fluttering in the firebox or behind the glass doors: a bird or bat that dropped down an uncapped flue.
• A sudden bad smell and flies with no sound at all: an animal that became trapped and died.

Chimney swifts are federally protected, so timing matters

Chimney swifts are covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which means an active nest cannot simply be pulled out while eggs or young are present. The practical answer is to wait. Swifts spend the warm months here and head south in early fall, so by the time most Bartlett homeowners are ready for their first fire the birds are usually gone. Once they have left, the empty nest and droppings can be swept out and a cap installed before they return in spring.

Live raccoons and squirrels are a wildlife job, not a sweep job

A sweep is the right person for the flue, but not for trapping. Illinois regulates the removal of nuisance wildlife, and a cornered raccoon protecting young is not something to reach for through a damper. Call a licensed wildlife control operator, keep the damper shut and the glass doors closed, and keep pets away from the fireplace. Some operators use a one-way exclusion door at the top of the chimney so the animal leaves on its own and cannot get back in.

After the animal is gone, the flue still needs attention

Getting the animal out is only half the problem. What it leaves behind can block the flue, rot the damper and hold moisture against masonry. This is where a professional chimney sweeping visit makes sense, followed by a look at the rest of the system:

• Nest material, droppings and debris removed from the smoke shelf, damper and flue.
• A camera check of the liner for cracked tiles or gaps the animal may have used or widened.
• Damper operation confirmed, since nesting material often jams the plate.
• Any flue that also vents a furnace or water heater checked for clear draft, because a blocked gas flue can push carbon monoxide into the house.

We inspect to NFPA 211, the National Fire Protection Association’s standard for chimneys, fireplaces and vents. It calls for an inspection once a year for soundness, freedom from deposits and correct clearances, and that annual check is the easiest time to catch an open flue before something moves in.

A properly fitted cap is what keeps them out for good

An uncapped flue is an open invitation. A stainless cap with mesh sides stops birds, bats, squirrels and raccoons while still letting smoke out, and it keeps rain off the damper at the same time. Fit matters: a cap that is loose, undersized or rusted through is easy for a raccoon to pry off. If your chimney has more than one flue, each one needs to be covered. You can read more about the options on our chimney caps and crowns page, and the neighborhoods we cover are listed on our Bartlett chimney sweep service area page.

Warning signs worth a call even when you hear nothing

Animals are not always noisy. Twigs or leaves falling into the firebox, a musty or ammonia smell when the weather turns humid, a damper that suddenly will not close, or smoke that lingers in the room on the first fire of the season all point toward a blockage. Any of these is a reason to keep the fireplace unlit and have the chimney looked at before winter.

Quick answers

By Jack Fox, CEO & Lead Chimney Expert — Fox Chimney Service, St. Charles, IL · About the author