|
Squirrels live in chimneys as well as attics. Your chimney is just like a big, hollow tree to some animals. Squirrels are great climbers, and they need a safe, dry place in which to live, so if your chimney has no chimney cap, get ready for some visitors!
Female squirrels instinctively seek out high areas in which to create a nest. Because squirrels are so common in urban areas, they often climb on houses and other buildings looking for a good place to set up a nest. If they see an open chimney, that's a great place to pick.
They can easily climb down the flue, and they usually set up a nest and have a litter of baby squirrels at the bottom.
DO NOT START A FIRE if you have squirrels in the chimney - you’d have to open
the damper to let the smoke out, and they will enter the fireplace instead of climbing out. Even if they don’t get into the your house or fireplace,
you will cook animals alive and get a horrendous odor that will last a long time.
If you have squirrels in the chimney there's several things you can do. Odor deterrents such as predator urine might work, because it's a very concentrated area, as
opposed to a large and well-ventilated chimney.
The best is to set a special chimney trap at the top of the flu, which catches the squirrel as it exits. If there's babies inside, they can then be safely removed by hand.
You can also set a ground trap at the base of the chimney and do the same thing, though the capture rate may not be 100%, like with the chimney trap. You can scare the mama out and remove the young, then use the young as live bait. Or, you can
use a long chimney snare pole to grab and remove them all. Many professional wildlife removal experts have special squirrel in
chimney removal systems if odor deterrents don’t work. Just remember to get the babies as well as the mother!
Once all the squirrels are out, install a sturdy steel chimney cap to prevent this from happening again. Oh, and if you don't have a cap right now,
make sure the fireplace damper is closed, or else critters may wind up inside your home and not just the chimney.
If you have a slick metal flu, such as the one in the above photo, the only solution is to lower a thick rope, with weight tied to the end, all the
way down. The squirrel will then be able to climb up.
Due to requests from readers for competent and honest wildlife professionals to assist with squirrel problems, I have been doing research on the matter, and can confidently recommend
companies in these cities:
- Jacksonville Florida
|
