Careful chimney animal removal for Lake Butler homes

Gaps at the chase cover

A chase cover that has rusted, warped or pulled away from the siding leaves openings at the top of a framed chimney. Birds and squirrels use those gaps to reach the space inside. Once the chase is confirmed empty, closing the gaps may mean refastening the cover or replacing it, along with the cap on the pipe. Chase cover replacement is priced as its own item on the estimate. Refastening a sound cover costs less than replacing it, and we say so when that is enough.

An old nest found at the start of the season

Nests built in spring are often found in fall, when someone looks up the flue before the first fire. By then the nest is usually empty, though that still needs confirming, and for swifts the birds must have left. We remove the material, sweep the flue and check the damper and cap, so the first fire of the season starts in a clear chimney. If the nest turns out to be active, the plan changes to match the animal and the rules for it.

What changes the price of the job

Every chimney animal job is priced from what we find, never from a flat rate. The factors are listed below, and each one appears as its own line on the written estimate. A written price for each factor also lets you phase the work, such as cleanup now and a new cap later.

• Roof height and access to the chimney top
• How much nest material and debris has to come out
• The cap or screen the chimney needs
• Whether a wildlife specialist is involved
• Any damper, crown or chase repair found along the way

When young animals are in the chimney

Young birds, bats or raccoons change the plan. Removing adults and leaving young behind, or sealing a chimney with young inside, leads to animals dying in the flue and an odor problem that follows. When young are present, the work waits for them to leave with the adults or is handled by a specialist. We confirm the chimney is empty before cleanup and capping. Young animals are also the reason the calendar matters so much in this work.