I was in my home office last week, when I heard a rustling and scratching sound that could only be a bird or squirrel in the chimney.  It was right on the flue damper.  While it was tempting to ignore it, and let the critter die in the chimney, this is neither humane nor when I thought about it, the least smelly option.  (Who wants a decomposing squirrel in the chimney?)

Since I had no idea how to proceed, I called in the experts.  Using the contractor locator on HomeESP, I plugged in my requirements and within an hour had two calls from qualified animal removal experts.  One asked for a $275 fee, the other was $125 to $175, depending on whether or not they had to climb the roof.  I don’t always go for the lower price, but in this case I got a better feeling on the phone from the lower bidder (All About Bats & Wildlife of Norwalk CT).

After my initial call with the owner of All About Bats (where we agreed we'd wait and see if the squirrel indeed could climb out of the chimney), it seemed that the noise had abated – did the critter get out?  

No such luck.  As nightfall descended, the telltale scratching returned.  A quick call to John Grasso, owner, and I was on the schedule for the following morning.  Dead or alive, the squirrel would be out of the chimney.

At 10:00 the technician, Luis, arrived, and took a look up the chimney.  He used a mirror on a short (about 12 inch) extendable pole and flashlight to look beyond and alongside the damper.   With gloves on, he was hoping to be able to just grab the squirrel by the neck and pop him in a bag.  But, no such luck. The squirrel was about two feet up the chimney and not coming down (or going up).

Plan B is what is really in interesting here, and what Luis had to do.  How did he get the squirrel out of our chimney?  It turns out, that it’s not that hard.  From above, he put a thick rope (about 1” diameter) with a weighted end (a knot will do) down the chimney, making an easy climb out for the squirrel.  For the DIY homeowner, this means that you have to climb onto your roof or climb a ladder (or both) to gain access to the chimney top.  You also have to be sure that you are sending the rope down the right flue.  At our house, there are three separate flue stacks on one chimney – one for the fireplace, one for the boiler and one that was taken out of service when we upgraded our heating from furnaces to a boiler.  

If you have only one chimney, and there’s any chance that the boiler, furnace or hot water heater on that flue will fire while you are “squirrel fishing” with your rope down the chimney, be extra certain you are sending the rope down the right flue stack!  You can put a flashlight on the damper facing up and either look down or just see if the light hits your hand to select the right flue.

The other chimney (where the squirrel was stuck) also has multiple flues for the two fireplaces it serves.  The first time Luis put the rope down, it was in the wrong flue.  The second time was a charm.  Luis checked once more that the squirrel couldn’t be grabbed by hand, and then closed the damper.  “He’ll be gone by tomorrow morning,” he promised.  And he was right.  When Luis returned the next day, the squirrel was out of the chimney.  

Turns out I need a chimney cap to keep critters out of the chimney for good.  Another $275 installed, for a total of $450 for the removal service and the new chimney cap.  A little painful but the cap also will keep most rain out of the flues and guarantees no more squirrels in the chimney.