Our Work

The right steps for a chimney animal problem in Indian Mound Village

The dates that govern bat exclusion in Florida

Florida's nuisance wildlife rule allows bat exclusion devices from August 15 to April 15 and prohibits them from April 16 through August 14, the period when young bats may be unable to fly. Sealing a chimney during those months could trap young bats inside. The rule sets the calendar, and no one on our crew works around it.

If bats are using a chimney in Indian Mound Village during summer, the lawful plan is to wait for August 15. Our team uses the waiting time to prepare the cap and any repairs, so the chimney can be closed promptly once exclusion is complete.

If anyone may have touched a bat

According to the Florida Department of Health, raccoons and bats are the primary wildlife sources of rabies in Florida, and direct contact with wild animals should be avoided. After possible contact, the department advises consulting a healthcare provider and local animal control.

Please make those calls before anything else, and do not try to catch the bat yourself. The chimney conversation can wait a few hours. When it is time, our specialists handle the chimney work in Indian Mound Village and keep it separate from the health question. Keep the room closed and the animal undisturbed until animal control advises you.

A raccoon in the chimney

A raccoon in a masonry chimney usually means the top was open or the cap was damaged. Raccoons are one of the two primary wildlife sources of rabies in Florida, according to the state Department of Health, so no one in the household should try to reach, prod or trap one.

Keep the damper and glass doors shut and the room closed. Capture is a job for a wildlife professional you authorize, and our part is the chimney around it: finding the entry, clearing the debris the animal left and fitting a cap strong enough to keep the next one out.

What the code asks of a screened cap

For masonry chimneys, the Florida Building Code sets the rules for spark arrestor screens. Together, the screen's openings must give at least four times the free area of the flue outlet, and no single opening may let through a sphere over 1/2 inch or stop one under 3/8 inch.

The screen material also has to stand up to heat and corrosion at least as well as 19-gage galvanized steel or 24-gage stainless. Those rules keep embers and animals out without choking the draft, and they are the standard we size caps to on Indian Mound Village chimneys.