How to Remove an Animal in Chimney

Need wildlife removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices - updated for year 2020.

The two most common animals to enter and live in chimneys are squirrels and raccoons. They see your chimney as a big, hollow tree, and a safe place in which to live and raise young. 90% of the time, if you have wildlife in your chimney, it's a female with a litter of babies. They choose your chimney as a safe den site. Always be aware of this. You can't just remove the adult. You must get the babies, too. Squirrels are more active in the daytime, and raccoons are more active at night. Sometimes an animal will fall down the chimney, if it's a slick metal flu, but most of the time, these animals can crawl in and out just fine.



What NOT To Do:

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, LIGHT A FIRE.
If there’s a bat in there, you’re going to jail because killing these flying critters is illegal in most places. If its any other animal, you’re still going to be in for a bumpy ride. The best case scenario here is that the animal realizes the place is heating up and jumps out of the open damper, but then what are you left with? A wild animal, a disease-carrying wild animal, on the loose inside your home. The kids are running around screaming, and the dog is barking his head off. What if that squirrel or raccoon stuck in the chimney has rabies? It takes just one bite… The worst case scenario is that you kill the animal, but then you have the decomposing, burnt remains stinking out your house for a few days. Technically, you’re no better off.

DO NOT TAKE RISKS!
It might seem like a good idea, running around on the roof trying to work out how to get to the animal stuck inside your chimney breast, but is it really safe? Do you have someone watching the ladder? Do you have a torch to hand to get a closer look? Do you have gloves ready in case the creature decides now is the right time to pop out its head, and claws, and teeth…?

If there’s a good chance you’re not going to be able to get the animal, or you’re going to need to take dangerous risks in order to do so, don’t do it. Just call in an expert and let them take over.

DO NOT LEAVE THE ANIMAL TO ITS OWN DEVICES.
If the animal is stuck and can’t get out, it won’t get out. It also won’t be able to eat, or do very much at all. It will be stuck wherever it is, pooping and peeing, leaving a right mess and a right stench, and eventually it will die. It might take a long time, and you’ll need to listen to its cries. Plus, when it dies, it’ll take around three days to start actually rotting away but when it does, it’ll stink, and the smell will just get worse over time, and with heat.

So now you know what NOT to do, let’s take a look at what you SHOULD do.



What To Do:

LOCATE THE ANIMAL.
Putting your best nostril forward, try to determine where the animal is actually coming from if you think it is already dead. Is the smell stronger at the bottom of the chimney, the middle, or the top? This will give you a good indication of the rough location of the critter, and the rest of the hard work is down to you, using your sight and a torch to try and figure out where it is.

If the animal is alive, try peeking from the top of the chimney (if it is safe to do so), and see if you can spot it. You may also want to consider throwing down a long length of knotted rope, to work as a rope-ladder of sorts for any creatures that can climb. Even the sickest of animals would still be able to pull itself up and climb out if it really wanted to.

CALL A PROFESSIONAL!
The easiest way to get rid of a wild animal stuck in your chimney is to call a professional. A trained, expert wild animal removal company will not only be able to locate the creature quicker than you ever could, with more knowledge and a truck-load more experience on his (or her) side, but they’ll also know the tricks of the trade to get them out. They’ll know how to trap the animal, where to release it, how to get rid of the scents and pheromones so that it doesn’t find its way back, and also how to get rid of the droppings and waste matter left by the animals, some of which can contain some pretty nasty diseases.

In short, calling an expert is the best way to get rid of an animal, dead or alive, in your chimney. It’ll be quicker, easier, and a lot less hassle in the long run!

Read more about: How to get rid of raccoons
Read more about: How to get rid of squirrels



Let's learn how to remove a wild animal in the chimney... You can hear a scuffling coming from somewhere, but you can’t really work out where. You poke your husband and wife, and gesture for them to keep an ear out. You both hear it. It sounds like an animal moving around, but where could it be coming from?

Using your ears, you and your partner make your way around the room, listening for the possible location of this mystery sound and before long, you soon realize it’s behind the wall - it’s coming from inside the chimney breast!

First of all, don’t panic! The chances of this actually happening to you are rare, but it does happen so it pays to be aware of it. Secondly, there are ways that you can sort out this problem, but there are a few things you will need to bear in mind.