The presence of a nest within your chimney can potentially be lethal to the home and must be investigated as soon as possible. One of the first signs that something is making a home in your chimney is the presence of twigs or other 'non-chimney' debris in the fireplace. Jackdaws, squirrels, starlings and others to name a few, all like to make nests in chimneys.
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Birds will always find 'chimneys' an ideal place to set up home. This is mainly because of the warmth and shelter that they provide from the outside world. However, is it common for birds who are resting or nesting on top of the chimney to wander inside, leaving themselves helpless and unable to fly back up to escape. Once a bird has slipped off the edge of the chimney pot and fallen even a few inches, it will struggle to fly up again as there is often not enough room to spread its wings in order to get back out.
If you suspect nesting in your chimney, 'DO NOT' light a fire. This might seem obvious but some people try to burn the nest out. This can potentially cause an array of issues and present a higher risk fire or filling the whole house with smoke.
If the presence of a nest is confirmed, there is the possibility that eggs or even hatched baby birds may be withing the nest. In this situation, we would wait for the nest to become dormant before will continue with the removal. The reason for this is simply because the birds are protected and can not be removed during the breeding season.
From the end of August through to late March a sweep can be done to remove the nest if applicable. This involves specialist equipment and can be quite time consuming depending on the size and material.
Once the sweep has been done and any nest have been removed, a second CCTV inspection is carried out to ensure that all blockages and debris have been successfully cleared. Finally, a smoke test is performed to confirm the correct draw is available to the fire. A successful test indicates that there is a smooth passage for the products of combustion to evacuate freely.
You can prevent any further nesting in your chimney by having your chimney fitted with an appropriate bird guard.
Birds such as Jackdaws, Rooks and Starlings, are very often the birds to blame for nests in your chimney. These birds will usually try to come back year after year to the same nesting site once they have returned form their annual migration. However, there are specilist guards that can be fitting to the chimney to prevent birds getting inside.
