Animals can carry diseases and you want to keep them out of your home. The bad thing about most chimneys is once an animal gets down the chimney there is no way to get out except through an open damper. A masonry chimney is built like an inverted funnel with the "funnel" part being the smoke chamber at the bottom of the chimney. Once an animal gets down the chimney it is nearly impossible for it to get out with the damper opening being the only route out.
Remember the Ray Stevens song, Mississippi Squirrel Revival? **See note below.
The day the squirrel went berserk,
In the First Self-Righteous Church
in that sleepy little town of Pascagoula?
Well let me tell you ... you ain't seen nothing 'til you have a soot-covered squirrel loose in your house. Curtains, walls, floors, tables, you name it are all thrown asunder as the sweet little, filthy-and no longer cute-squirrel, tries to find a way out of your house.
If it doesn't get out through the damper and dies in there whew wee .....................You won't notice anything until the odor starts to choke you and the flies and maggots infest your chimney. I can not overstate how horrible the odor is becasue it is horrific. We have received calls from homeowners, sometimes in tears from the gagging, awful smell. But on the plus side, if you happen to notice a live animal trapped in the chimney, chances are good we can get them out safely. If it's too late, we will remove the carcass and deodorize the chimney to eliminate the horrific odor. Our deodorant does not mask the smell but devours it and leaves the pleasant smell of bubble gum or our newest scent-a hint of green apple.
If the animal/bird is trapped in a modern prefab chimney we are talking a whole different ball game. We will have to discuss the ramifications of this with you personally so as to not offend any readers. Simply put it is very expensive to get one out.
Animals and birds in chimneys are not everyday occurrences but it happens more often than it should. The simple use of a chimney cap will stop the problem at its source amd keep wildlife where they belong out of your house. Do your part in protecting your home and wildlife by installing a chimney cap . That is the humane way to prevent this occurrence.
An added bonus is a chimney cap is the best way to protect your chimney and fireplace. Just putting a screen on your chimney will keep pests out BUT it will eventually suffer major water damage from repeated rains getting into your chimney. The rain water mixes with the ashes and creosote in the chimney and forms a caustic acid-lye. This will in turn erode your firebox and cause your fireplace and chimney to fail. It is a lot easier to have us install a chimney cap to keep the water, birds and animals out.
The primary occupant of the chimneys in this area is the chimney swift. This migratory bird inhabits the chimneys only long enough to hatch a new family and then it is on its way to Mexico or Canada on its migratory path.
* Psst! Did you know it is against federal law for anyone to remove the nests of the chimney swift? This very plentiful bird migrates from Peru to the northern U.S. and Canada and calls Texas chimneys home as they hatch young birds on the way. All migratory birds are on the protected species list therefore the protection. The good thing is they are only in your chimney for 6 weeks at the most and only the last two weeks are the most noticeable when the little peepers sound like rattlesnakes as mom brings back food to the nest. They are harmless if left alone and will leave on their own accord for another year. After they leave is the perfect time to prevent their noisy return by calling us to install a chimney cap or cover. The truth is, animals and birds are the least of your concern with an uncapped chimney. Allowing rain to go down your chimney will cause terrible financial pain to you when the chimney starts to deteriorate due to water damage. We have seen many instances of people foolishly thinking they have solved the problem of keeping out pests by installing a screen on the chimney. It stops the pests alright but gives them false security as the rain just pours in and they don't know they have a problem until it is seriously in bad shape.
**Sadly we must inform you that it is our opinion that Ray Stevens' Mississippi Squirrel is dead. We are located in Central Texas and one day got a phone call from a lady in distress in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She tearfully(tears from the awful smell) explained she had a dead squirrel in her chimney and wanted us to come get it out at no charge(go figure). She asked if we were in Mississippi. We said no, try Texas. Well the area code was close she said. Anyway we suggested another sweep for her to call and never heard another word from her. And yes we do charge for animal removal but not as much as we would have to charge if it was in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
No we did not do a DNA check but we think this has to have been the squirrel Ray Stevens sang about. If not, surely it was a descendant. Well, at least it was in Mississippi and it was in Pascagoula and it was a squirrel. So there - that proves it.(No I am not running for any political office)