Having a fireplace in your home is wonderful. However, it also comes with a bit of work. It is important to make sure that you keep your chimney properly maintained to avoid the risk of a fire occurring. Another important thing that you have to think about when you own a fireplace is the risk of birds and other animals entering your home through the chimney or simply taking up residence in it.
There are many problems that birds and other animals in your chimney can create. The goal of any homeowner should be to make sure that they have done what they can to keep animals from entering the chimney and posing further issues. The two basic tools that can help prevent birds and other animals from entering a chimney are a chimney damper and a chimney cap.
Most of the time a chimney flue will be covered using a chimney cap. The main purpose of this is to keep water from pouring into your home from the chimney. The chimney cap should have a wire cage that will prevent birds from gaining access to the flue. A top seal damper can also be used to help stop animals such as birds from entering the chimney as well.
A top-sealing damper will seal off the opening of the flue when you are not using the fireplace. Some types of these dampers are fitted into the chimney and have a metal cage that collapses. This prevents animals, birds, and debris from getting into the chimney when you open the damper.
If you hear or have reason to believe that there are birds or some other animal in your chimney, you need to call a professional in to remove it. The chimney will also need to be cleaned and swept to make sure that there is no damage or debris.