Chimney animal removal and entry repair in Forest Hills

Why nobody in the household should handle the animal

Raccoons and bats are the main wildlife sources of rabies in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health, which tells residents to keep people and pets from direct contact with wild animals. A cornered animal in a fireplace can bite or scratch.

Reaching into a chimney, pulling on a nest or trying to grab a trapped animal puts you at risk. Leave the animal where it is, keep the fireplace closed and let the people who handle wildlife do that part.

The health department also advises wearing gloves before checking a pet that has tangled with a wild animal. Keep pets indoors and away from the fireplace until the chimney is clear.

Who handles the animal and who handles the chimney

Florida's rule allows property owners to deal with nuisance wildlife on their property or to authorize someone else to do it. Protected birds and bats have their own rules on top of that.

We are clear about the division of work. Where an animal must be trapped, excluded or rehabilitated, we coordinate with the right wildlife help. The chimney side, meaning the inspection, cleaning, damper and flue checks and the cap, is ours.

That division keeps each part of the job with the people suited to it, and you get one plain explanation of the whole plan before anything starts. The inspection that begins it is free.

What the code says about chimney cap screens

Florida's residential code sets rules for spark arrestor screens on masonry chimneys. The screen openings must not let through a sphere larger than half an inch or block one smaller than three-eighths of an inch, and the screen material has to hold up to heat and corrosion no worse than 19-gauge galvanized or 24-gauge stainless steel would.

That section also sets the arrestor's net free area at no less than four times the flue outlet's area. A properly sized screened cap meets those rules and keeps birds and squirrels out without choking the chimney's draft.

Why poisons and home traps make things worse

Poison or an improvised trap placed in a fireplace or chimney rarely ends the problem. An animal that dies in the flue has to be found and removed, the smell spreads through the house, and a trap in a fireplace can catch a pet or injure a child.

Florida's nuisance wildlife rule also governs how animals may be taken and released. Leave the animal to people who work within that rule, and let our team deal with the chimney once it is clear.