Something is living in your chimney

Scratching, flapping, chirping or a low rumble above the damper. Here is how to tell what it is, what we can do today, and the one case where nobody is legally allowed to remove it.

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A stainless steel chimney cap with mesh sides installed on a masonry chimney

What the sound usually means

Scratching and scrabblingSomething with claws that got in and cannot climb back out. Usually a squirrel or a raccoon, usually above the damper, and usually panicking.

Flapping, close and loudA bird that came down the flue. If it is loose in the firebox it will head for the light — close the room, open a window, and call us.

Chirping, many voicesA colony. In spring and summer in the Puget Sound this is very likely chimney swifts, and they change what anyone is allowed to do.

A rumble with no scratchingOften not an animal at all. Debris, a failed damper, or a nest that has already been abandoned and is now blocking the flue.

Whatever it is, stop using the fireplace. A blocked flue pushes smoke and carbon monoxide back into the room, and lighting a fire under a live animal is the version of this story that ends badly for everyone.

The one we are not allowed to touch

Chimney swifts are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. While a nest is active, removing it is a federal offence — not a guideline, an offence, with fines that start at five figures. Permits exist and are almost never granted. Swifts nest one brood a season, the young fly in a few weeks, and then the chimney is yours again.

So if that is what you have, we will tell you, we will confirm it from the top, and we will book the cap for the week after they leave. Any company that offers to clear an active swift nest today is either lying about what is up there or breaking federal law on your property, and both of those become your problem, not theirs.

What we do about it

Come out and find out what is actually in there, from the top and from the firebox
Tell you what it is, whether it is alive, and whether it is legal to move it
Clear nests, debris and blockage where the flue is clear to work on
Bring in a licensed wildlife control operator when live animals need trapping — that is a permitted trade in Washington and we are not it
Sweep the flue and run a Level 1 inspection once it is empty, because nests leave more behind than nests
Cap the flue and close the other entry points so it does not happen a third time

The cap is the part that actually ends this. Everything above it is cleanup.

What it costs

Nest removal and a cap$200 – $850, which is the same range as the nest we pull out of a flue on any ordinary sweep.

Sweep and inspection after$199 – $329, and it is not optional — a flue that held a nest needs checking before the next fire.

Wildlife trappingBilled by the wildlife operator, not by us. We will tell you what they typically charge before you call them.

Same-day workCosts more than a booked visit in this trade, usually thirty to fifty percent. We will say the number on the phone.

Puget Sound market ranges, 2026 — published so you can check any quote against them, ours included.

How fast we can be there

Call and we will tell you honestly when we can be at the house — today if the schedule allows it, and the real day if it does not. We would rather give you a time we can keep than a promise that sounds better on a website.

Questions about animals in the chimney

There is a bird loose in my living room. What now?

Shut the door to the rest of the house, open one window wide, draw the curtains on the others and leave the room. Birds go to the brightest gap. Do not chase it — a panicked bird in a closed room hurts itself on the glass.

Can I just light a fire and smoke it out?

No. It is cruel, it does not reliably work, and a nest in a flue is fuel — this is a genuine cause of chimney fires. If the flue is blocked, the smoke comes back at you instead.

How did it get in? I have a cap.

Caps rust through, mesh tears, and chase covers fail at the seams. A cap that has been up fifteen Puget Sound winters is not the cap you think it is. We check it as part of the visit.

What if the animal is already dead?

Then it is a blockage and a smell, and it is straightforward chimney work — no wildlife permit involved. We remove it, sweep the flue and cap the top.

Will a cap keep everything out?

A properly sized stainless cap with intact mesh keeps out birds, squirrels and raccoons, and it keeps the rain off your crown at the same time. It is the cheapest part of the chimney and it prevents the most expensive damage.

Tell us what you are hearing.

Describe the sound and when it started — that alone usually tells us what is up there and what it is going to take.

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