Safe chimney animal removal and cleanup in Tampa Heights

Chimney swifts are protected by federal law

Chimney swifts build small nests of twigs glued to the inside wall of a chimney. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects them. As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains, the law forbids harassing, injuring or killing the birds, and the same goes for their eggs and nests.

That means an active swift nest stays where it is until the birds leave. We do not sweep, block or cap a chimney with nesting swifts inside. Our role is to confirm what is there and plan the cleaning and cap for after the season.

If you are unsure whether the birds are swifts, keep the fireplace closed and describe what you hear. Our team can help confirm the species before any decision about cleaning or capping is made.

Capping a chimney used by swifts

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service encourages homeowners not to cap or screen chimneys that swifts use, because the birds depend on them for nesting. The same guidance says a chimney with a metal liner should be capped, since animals can be trapped inside a smooth metal flue.

Some homeowners choose to leave a masonry chimney open for the birds, and others decide to cap it after the season. We explain both paths honestly and do the work you choose at the right time of year.

Whichever you choose, the chimney is swept before it is capped, so old nest material does not stay in the flue under a new cap.

How bats leave before the chimney is sealed

Bats are removed from buildings by exclusion, not by trapping. An exclusion device lets bats leave but not come back, and Florida's rule sets weather conditions for how long the device must be in place before openings are sealed.

That work belongs with a wildlife professional who handles bat exclusions. Once the bats are out and the exclusion period is complete, our team cleans the chimney and fits a cap or screen that keeps them from returning.

Bats that are sealed in instead of excluded may find their way into the living space or die inside the chimney. Doing the exclusion properly the first time avoids both results.

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.