A family chimney company working in Midtown

Hold off on lighting a fire or pushing anything up the flue if you hear scratching, chirping or fluttering inside the chimney. An animal that cannot climb out may be trapped, and one that can may be nesting, and the next step depends on which. Some chimney visitors are protected. Chimney swifts are migratory birds covered by federal law, so a nest in use stays where it is until the swifts leave on their own.

Bats fall under state wildlife rules in Florida, which limit when they may be excluded from a building. Raccoons, squirrels and other birds each call for a different approach again. Our family team handles animal removal in Midtown within those rules, and we explain which ones apply before anything happens. Because our business is locally owned, the same people who remove an animal can also fit the cap or screen that keeps the next one out.

Tell us what you heard, what time of day it happens and whether anything has come down into the firebox. Squirrels and raccoons can tear at a damper or a cap to get in, so we check both for damage. If an animal has died in the flue, the odour usually gives it away, and we remove it with the nest material.

Keep the damper closed and the room door shut if you can do so without reaching into the opening. The free inspection hunts for the entry point, the nest material, any damage to the flue and the condition of the cap. Any service you say yes to before the 72-hour mark after your free inspection is 10% off.

Removal, cleaning out the nest debris and the cap or screen are three separate lines, each with an upfront price, on the free written estimate. Nest material and droppings are bagged and taken away. What we found and removed is noted in a written record, and the cap or screen we fit in Midtown is under our workmanship warranty.