Something living in your chimney? Chimney animal removal in West Tampa

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.

If a bat gets into the house

A bat that makes it into the living space should not be touched with bare hands. The CDC advises anyone bitten or scratched by a bat to wash the wound with soap and water and get medical help right away.

For a bat found in the home, the CDC recommends contacting animal control or the health department so it can be captured safely for rabies testing. Once that is handled, we can inspect the chimney for the way the bat got in.

Keep people and pets out of that room and close the interior door while you make the call. If anyone may have been bitten or scratched, medical advice comes before anything else.

Nests on the smoke shelf above the damper

Just above the damper of a masonry fireplace sit the smoke shelf and the smoke chamber, a sheltered space where nesting material and debris collect. Material there is out of sight from the room but directly in the path of smoke when the fireplace is used.

When an animal has been in the chimney, we check the smoke shelf and the chamber above it as well as the flue. Anything left there is cleared once the chimney is confirmed empty, so the next fire does not start under old nest material.

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.