{"id":3671,"date":"2023-08-28T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/?p=3671"},"modified":"2023-08-25T17:49:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T22:49:38","slug":"animals-that-can-get-in-your-chimney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/chimney\/chimney-cleaning-chimney\/animals-that-can-get-in-your-chimney\/","title":{"rendered":"Animals That Can Get in Your Chimney"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"stork-nest-on-chimney\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Chimney cleaning in Minneapolis, MN<\/a> is a job we recommend homeowners have scheduled regularly, especially for wood-burning fireplaces that leave behind creosote. But creosote isn\u2019t the only reason you may need to have chimney cleaning: animals often get inside chimneys to nest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animals will not only create blockages, they can also be dangerous\u2014and removing them often must be left to expert chimney cleaners. We have a lot of experience with the types of critters that like to set up homes inside Minnesota chimneys. Here are the most common ones that might choose your chimney for a temporary home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Raccoons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the major ones we deal with in Minnesota. Raccoons are no longer animals found exclusively in the wilderness: they\u2019re increasingly becoming urban creatures that rapidly learn survival tactics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of their favorite tactics is to use chimneys as hiding places to give birth. To a raccoon, a chimney is basically a tree, but even more sturdy. Pregnant raccoons will enter the flue of a chimney to give birth in a safe place, and the litter of kits will stay on the smoke shelf.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raccoons are obviously difficult to remove from a chimney and you don\u2019t want to try to \u201cconfront\u201d them. Attempting to scare them out can occasionally work, but raccoons are becoming increasingly resistant to this. It\u2019s best to have professionals not only remove the raccoons but also provide chimney cleaning to clear out nest materials and droppings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Squirrels<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Squirrels are in a similar position as raccoons: females give birth in trees, and a chimney is a sturdy and even warmer “tree” to a squirrel. They are sometimes harder to detect than raccoons, but can also be as difficult to remove. Professionals can flush out squirrels and remove any droppings and other residue after they\u2019re gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several types of birds can live and nest inside chimneys. The most common to watch for are what are appropriately known as chimney swifts. These birds have the ability to fly up and down the flue, and they find chimneys an appealing place to nest during the spring. If you hear a high-pitched chirping from your chimney in spring, you likely have chimney swifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you cannot have chimney sweeps remove them because these birds are federally protected as a vulnerable species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Fortunately, they\u2019ll migrate south at the end of spring. Once that occurs, you have chimney sweeps clean up after them. They can also install a chimney cap that prevents swifts from returning. In fact, we recommend these caps to help keep out all animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bats<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The only bats you want in your house are decorations for Halloween. Bats enter chimneys because they\u2019re easy to enter and have the similar appeal of a cave. You definitely don\u2019t want bats camped out in your chimney, but they may also be a protected species, so don\u2019t attempt to remove them yourself. Reach out to our professionals and we\u2019ll find the best way to make your chimney bat-free and remain bat-free in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. serves Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Surrounding Communities. <\/strong>Schedule service for chimney cleaning today.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are the most common critters that might choose your chimney for a temporary home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[382,73,99],"class_list":["post-3671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chimney-cleaning-chimney","tag-animals-in-chimney","tag-chimney-cleaning","tag-minneapolis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3671"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3674,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions\/3674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.2ndgenerationchimneys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}