Dealing with a squirrel in the chimney

The spout of your chimney is an open invitation to curious squirrels. Chimneys are an easy access point that will keep squirrels safe from almost any predator and help keep them cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. They may just decide to pop in every now and again, but sometimes you get a whole family of squirrels moving into your chimney.

Squirrels in your Cincinnati Chimney can drive you up the wall

Squirrels, along with any critter that can get inside your smokestack can cause real damage and potentially drop combustible material straight down the chamber.

If you discover squirrels in your chimney, you should try to remove that squirrel as soon as possible!

Keep reading to learn how:

Make Some Noise

First, if you have a chimney screen, make sure that it covers the entrance. In case you don’t, drape a sheet over the mouth of the fireplace or cover it with a sheet of heavy cardboard.

Remain close to the chimney and bang on pots and pans or generally make a commotion to urge the squirrel to leave through the top.

In case your squirrel is in the chimney pipe, keep your damper shut! This will keep your squirrel in the smoke chamber or flue and force them upward.

Have One Escape Route

Ensure that your squirrel can escape the smokestack. There’s a chance the way might be blocked, so you or a wildlife removal professional may need to go up and make sure that a rooftop exit for your chimney is still available to the squirrel.

If you are willing to go up there, try dangling a rope down the chimney so that your squirrel has a way to climb out.

Trap your squirrel

Proper squirrel pest control in a chimney can be a complicated and stressful process. It may be a good idea to call AAAC Wildlife Removal for our squirrel chimney trapping expertise.

We can set live traps and help safely evict the squirrel from your chimney without a headache.

Cap The Chimney

When your squirrel friend has finally been removed, you may want to make sure that something like this won’t happen again. It is a good idea to install a chimney cap or cover.

These will help keep rain out of your chimney, but also stop a Squirrel or any other kind of critter from taking up residence in your fireplace again.

You’ll want to make sure that the chimney cap you chose properly fits your house. AAAC Wildlife Removal has a lot of experience placing and fitting chimney caps for this exact purpose. Give us a call!

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Sean & Jessica Earley

We are passionate about helping our friends, neighbors, and customers manage their wildlife issues, and keep their homes safe and secure. If you’re struggling with an uninvited guest in your house or yard, give us a call!

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I was so grateful to have found AAAC Wildlife removal! We had a horrible bird problem and of course it was the holiday week. Sean was fantastic to work with and squeezed us in to get the problem solved ASAP! It wasn’t an easy job and I am just so glad Sean was able to take care of it! I will absolutely be recommending his services to anyone in need of Wildlife Removal!
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Like to thank AAAC for the quick response and taking care of my flying squirrels. It’s a long process to rid your home, but having them humanely removed and all the access points sealed is a bonus!
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I’m SO glad we reached out to Sean with AAAC Wildlife. We clearly had some sort of animal in our roof and after being told we had mice and needed complete insulation renewal with a massive sticker price from a big name company we reached out AAAC Wildlife. We had a quick response and initial meeting in which we found out that we did NOT have a mouse problem but actually squirrels! Sean seemed very knowledgeable, did not just simply want to make money but wanted to help us and work with what we were comfortable doing no stress or pressure added while ultimately fixing the problem and preventing it happening again. He was always able to work around whatever availability we had and stuck to his plan and expertise as we faced some unexpected surprises. In the end we are squirrel free, have actually fixed the overall problem instead of slapping a bandaid on and all for an extremely reasonable price. I would 100% recommend!
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We received excellent service from Sean at AAAC Wildlife Removal. He knows his stuff and is great at what he does. He was very quick to come out after I called him about our problem with bats. He was wonderful through the whole process and even went above and beyond by doing extra things that we asked of him. I would highly reccomend his service to anyone in need. Thanks so much Sean for giving me peace of mind and making me feel safe and secure in my home again.
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