Arctic Temperatures: Not for the Birds!
This week, as we saw record lows and wind chills, we received a couple of calls for birds (starlings) in the basement. This is a common nuisance animal problem which also has a pretty simple remedy.
Many people’s homes have furnaces and hot water tanks vented through their chimneys. Birds, especially starlings and sparrows, like to gather on the edges of these chimneys and utilize the extra warmth found there. This week, with below zero temperatures, you can bet that these warmer perches were in high demand.
When it’s REALLY cold and the chimneys are open and accessible to birds (NO CHIMNEY CAPS or SCREENING), some birds will go down the chimney seeking even more warmth and protection from the cold winds. Starlings are a type of bird that prefer to dwell in cavities, so they have no problem going on exploratory missions down into chimneys.
When the starlings reach the warm chimney bottoms (usually in the basement), they usually reach a dead end. But, sometimes there is a way out and right into the basement. You may here noises such as chirping and wings flapping in the basement tipping you off that birds have gotten in.
How do the birds get out of the chimney into the basement?
Some pictures from my own house help explain that.
Here is the chimney of my 1926 home.
Notice the two chimney caps on the sides and the vent in the middle. The flue to the right goes to the fireplace in the living room. The center flue, with the upside down dish-like vent protruding from it, goes to the basement and the hot water heater. The flue to the left used to go to my kitchen. It was permanently sealed during a kitchen remodel.
Now to the basement. In many older homes, furnaces and hot water tanks were tied into the same chimney flue. Multiple opening were made into the flues at these chimney bases and vents were run into the common flue.
Here is the chimney in the basement. The pipe to the right is the vent for my hot water tank. It directs warm exhaust up to the center flue on the roof. But, you can also see a round picture in the foreground on the side of the chimney the camera faces. This, too, is an opening into that same flue. When whatever was originally piped in was removed, this decorative metal plate was put in its place. This was a very common practice and vent covers like this exist in older homes in the Akron / Canton / Kent area.
Here is a close-up of the vent. When these are no longer tight fitting or not existent, birds like starlings can come down chimney and get in the basement.
Once they get in the basement they need to be captured and removed. We use nets for this.
Preventing Birds in the Basement
Prevention is pretty straightforward. The best answer is to have a properly sized and fitted chimney cap. Chimney caps keep animals out of chimneys and also protect your flues from rain. We highly recommend them.
If you don’t have the ability to put a chimney cap on right away, do make sure that all the openings from the chimney flues are well covered in the meantime. The birds may still be able to get down the chimney, but at least won’t be able to access the living space.
If you have birds in the basement in the Akron, Canton, Kent, OH area and want them out; give Frontline Animal Removal a call. We will also install chimney caps to prevent any further animal intrusions.
Please check out our Bird Removal Page for more information.
