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Chimney Animal Removal in Los Angeles
If something is moving in your chimney, keep the damper closed and do not light a fire. Chimney animal removal starts with working out what the animal is, because a trapped bird, a squirrel and a raccoon with young each come out differently.
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What to Do Right Now
Five things, in this order. None of them needs a ladder.
- 1
Keep the damper and fireplace doors closed
The damper is the metal plate that closes the flue above the firebox. Closed, it keeps the animal in the chimney and out of your living room. If there are glass doors or a screen, close those too. If there is no damper, block the fireplace opening with something heavy and flat.
- 2
Do not light a fire to smoke it out
A frightened animal climbs down toward the room, not up. Young animals and birds often cannot climb out at all and die in the flue. Nesting material is dry and burns, and a nest blocking the flue pushes smoke and carbon monoxide back into the house.
- 3
Do not reach up the flue
You cannot see what is there, a cornered animal bites and scratches, and a raccoon with young will defend them. Soot and creosote come down with whatever you disturb.
- 4
Keep pets and children out of the room
A dog or cat at the firebox stresses the animal and can get hurt if it comes down. Shut the door to the room.
- 5
Note what you hear and when
Fluttering or scratching, chirping that rises and falls, heavy movement, and whether it happens at dawn, during the day or at night. This is the quickest way to narrow down what is up there.
If the animal is already in the room, shut the interior doors, open an outside door or window in that room, and leave it alone to find the way out. If a fire was lit and the room is filling with smoke or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out of the house first and call 911.
Which Animal Is in the Chimney? Listen First
Animal noise in the chimney is usually identifiable from what it sounds like and when it happens. None of this is certain, but it narrows the options before anyone looks.
| What you hear | Often | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Fluttering and scratching in daylight | A bird stuck in the chimney | Smooth flue tile; it may not be able to climb out |
| Chirping that rises when an adult arrives | Birds nesting in the chimney | Possibly an active nest; see the law section below |
| Scampering, mostly morning and late afternoon | A squirrel in the chimney | May be coming and going, or trapped on the damper |
| Heavy movement at night, chittering or whimpering | A raccoon in the chimney, often with kits | Mother and young should come out together |
| Faint squeaking or rustling around dusk | Possibly bats | Do not handle; see bats below |
| Noise stopped, then a sour, rotten smell | An animal has died in the flue | Source removal, then odor removal |
For background on why animals choose chimneys, see what homeowners should know about animals in the chimney.
Where the Animal Is Changes the Job
On the smoke shelf or damper. The smoke shelf is the ledge just above the damper where the firebox narrows into the flue. Birds and young animals that fall in usually end up here. It is the easiest place to reach from below once the damper is opened carefully with the doors closed.
Higher in the flue. A nest partway up, or an animal wedged in the flue, is reached from the top or with rods from below, and the nest material usually has to come out with it.
Not in the flue at all. Noise that seems to come from the chimney may be in the wall, the attic or a gap in the chase around it. That changes who you need.
When not to call us: a bird sitting on top of the cap, or perched on the chimney, is not inside it and needs nothing. An animal trapped in a wall cavity or the attic beside the chimney is not a chimney job; a wildlife control operator or pest control company is the right call. And if the chimney is already capped and screened and the noise is on the roof, it is probably on the roof.
Nesting Birds Are Federally Protected
Nesting migratory birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. That protection can extend to active nests, eggs and young, and you cannot tell from the firebox whether the birds above you are a covered species. Treat an active nest as potentially protected until you know otherwise.
In practice, an active nest should not be disturbed until you have checked what applies to the species involved. Nest removal may have to wait until the young have fledged and left. The flue stays out of use in the meantime, with the damper closed, and the chimney gets screened once the nest is empty.
An abandoned nest is a different matter. Once it is confirmed empty, it is debris, and it comes out the same way any chimney blockage does.
Raccoon Kits and Bats Need a Different Approach
Raccoons. A raccoon in the chimney in spring is often a mother with kits on the smoke shelf. Removing or excluding the mother alone leaves the young behind to starve in the flue, and she is likely to try hard to get back to them, including by tearing at the cap or the roof. The aim is to get the family out together or let the mother move them, and only then close the top.
Bats. Bats are a wildlife and public-health matter as well as a chimney one. Do not handle a bat, even a dead one, and do not try to catch one that gets into the room. Keep the damper closed, keep people and pets away, and contact your local animal services for guidance. If anyone may have been bitten or scratched, speak to a doctor. Protections for bats can apply, so exclusion is usually timed and done in a specific way.
What Chimney Animal Removal Involves
Getting the animal out is only the first part. The chimney has to be left clear, clean and closed, or the same thing happens again.
- 1
The animal and its position are identified
From the sounds, the timing, and a look from the firebox or the top. Whether young are present, and whether the species is protected, decides what happens next.
- 2
The animal is removed or given a way out
Birds and young animals on the smoke shelf are usually lifted out by hand in gloves or with a net. Animals that can climb are often given a one-way exit at the top of the flue, so they can leave and cannot return. Some cases call for a wildlife control operator or local animal services.
- 3
The nest and debris are cleared
Nest material, droppings and anything that fell in come out of the smoke shelf and flue. This is the same work as clearing any other blockage.
- 4
The flue is cleaned and deodorized if needed
Droppings and a dead animal leave a smell that settles into soot and masonry. Cleaning the flue and smoke shelf removes the source; deodorizing deals with what remains.
- 5
The top of the chimney is screened or capped
Once the flue is confirmed empty. If a cap was there and failed, it is repaired or replaced; if there was none, one is fitted.
The follow-on work each has its own page: clearing nest material from the flue, getting rid of the smell, screening the flue against animals, and fitting a cap where there is none. If there was a cap and something still got in, the cap has failed.
Before a wood fire is lit again, the flue should be confirmed clear. On a wood-burning chimney that usually means a chimney cleaning, since the debris an animal leaves is combustible.
What Drives the Cost
A bird on the smoke shelf and a raccoon family halfway up a flue are different jobs, so no single figure is given here.
Which animal, and whether young are present
A single trapped bird is the simplest case. A mother with young, or a protected species, adds steps and sometimes waiting.
Where it is
The smoke shelf is reachable from below. Higher in the flue, or at the top, means roof access.
Whether the animal is alive
A dead animal has to be retrieved, and the smell usually means cleaning and deodorizing afterwards.
How much nest and debris there is
Some nests are a handful of twigs; some fill the flue.
What closes the chimney afterwards
Refastening a loose cap, re-screening, or a new cap or guard.
Roof access
Steep or high roofs take more setup.
Estimates cost nothing — describe the job and we will come back to you.
Canyon and Hillside Wildlife in Los Angeles
Where a house sits on a canyon edge or a wooded hillside, raccoons, squirrels and birds live close by, and an open flue is one of the more sheltered spots on the property. Those are the neighborhoods where a chimney that has been fine for years can suddenly have something living in it.
Street trees and mature gardens do the same on flatter ground. Squirrels travel along branches that overhang the roof, and a chimney under a tree is within easy reach. Trimming branches back from the roof is worth doing alongside screening the flue.
Is something in your chimney?
Tell us what you hear, when you hear it, and whether the chimney has a cap. We can help you work out the next step, including when this is not a chimney job.
Related chimney & fireplace services
Part of Caps, Screens & Chimney Top — Everything fitted to the top of the stack: rain caps, spark arrestors and animal screens. The cheapest place to stop the most expensive problems.
- chimney animal screenChimney Animal Screen — Mesh screening that stops birds and wildlife getting into an open flue.
- fitting a cap to the flueChimney Cap Installation — Fitting a cap where there is none, and choosing a material that lasts in LA.
- what to do about an obstructed flueChimney Blockage Removal — Nesting material, fallen masonry, debris and obstructions cleared from the flue.
- chimney odor removalChimney Odor Removal — Smoky, musty or rotten smells from a fireplace — what causes each and what clears it.
- having the flue cleanedChimney Cleaning — Creosote, soot and debris removed from the flue, smoke shelf and firebox.
- damper and top-seal optionsChimney Damper Repair — Throat and top-sealing dampers — seized, warped, missing or leaking.
Request an Estimate
Tell us what you hear in the chimney and when.
Right now
- Damper and doors closed.
- No fire.
- No hands up the flue.
- Pets out of the room.
- Write down what you hear and when.
Chimney Animal Removal Questions
More chimney and fireplace questions are answered on the main FAQ page.
Tell us what your chimney is doing
Call, or send a short description and request an estimate. Estimates cost nothing.