Chimney animal removal in Atlantic Beach by local pros

We handle the chimney side of an animal problem in Atlantic Beach, from the free inspection and legal timing to the clean-out and a fitted cap.

Fully licensed and insured
Locally owned
Family owned and operated
Same-day service

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(904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

Local experts for animals in Atlantic Beach chimneys

Locally owned in Jacksonville
Family owned and operated
100% satisfaction guaranteed
Free inspection and estimate
Same-day service available
10% off any service

Nest material comes out before the first fire, because it is kindling sitting in the flue.

Free inspection and estimateFinding out what is in your Atlantic Beach flue, and which rules apply, is part of the free visit.
Upfront pricing, no hidden feesClean-out, exclusion and cap are priced as separate lines, and any trapper is named in writing.
Same-day serviceWhen the schedule has room, we can look at a noisy chimney the same day you call.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

When swifts set the schedule

Chimney swifts arrive to nest in spring and leave on migration late in the season, and while they are nesting, federal law protects the birds, their eggs and their nest. A flue with swifts in it is left alone until they go.

In Atlantic Beach homes with swifts, that means a stretch of chatter, a closed damper and a plan dated for after migration: sweep the flue, check it, and cap it if you decide to. Federal wildlife officials ask owners who can to leave a flue open for swifts, and that choice is yours. Once the birds have gone, the old nest material comes out during the sweep. On the phone at (904) 920-5495, describe what you hear in the Atlantic Beach chimney and when it happens.

The 2020 Census count for Atlantic Beach was 13,513 people. Atlantic Beach is on the coast.

Chimney animal work we take on in Atlantic Beach

Sounds and their timing used to narrow down the animal
Flue looked down from the top with a strong light
One-way exclusion device fitted where the rules call for one
Damper and smoke shelf checked after the clean-out

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

How our wildlife pros clear a chimney in Atlantic Beach

Sounds, shelf and flue read
What you hear and when, what is on the smoke shelf and a look down from the top tell us what is inside.
Rules and timing checked
Protected birds and bats set the dates, and a one-way device goes on where the rules call for one.
Clean-out with the opening sealed
Once the flue is empty, nests and droppings come out through a sealed firebox and are bagged.
Way in closed for good
A screened cap, crown repair or chase cover fix closes the entry, and the damper is checked.

After a coastal storm in Atlantic Beach

Hurricane season fills half the year, from June through November. A storm that knocks a cap loose on the coast leaves the flue open, and animals can move in within days.

If you hear noise in the chimney after a storm in Atlantic Beach, keep the damper shut and call. We check the cap first.

10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection

Ask for the 10% off on the animal job and we write it on the booking.

Call (904) 920-5495 Free Inspection

What the swift rule means in practice

Federal law covers chimney swifts through the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In the Fish and Wildlife Service's words, it is illegal to harass, injure or kill the birds, and the protection extends to their eggs and nests.

For a chimney, that turns into three working rules. An active nest is not removed. The flue is not capped or blocked while swifts are using it. The sweep and the cap are scheduled after the birds have migrated.

By the Service's account, the birds arrive in March or April and head south again in August or September. A plan for your chimney goes by the actual activity in it, confirmed quiet, with the calendar only as a guide.

Handling droppings safely

Droppings from birds and bats are more than a mess. Histoplasmosis, the CDC explains, is caught by breathing in spores of a fungus that grows in those droppings, and disturbing the material is what puts the spores in the air. Dry sweeping and household vacuums do exactly that.

The safe approach is to dampen the material to keep dust down, collect it with filtered equipment, bag it and clean the surfaces after. Whoever does the work wears respiratory protection. For homeowners the rule is simpler: leave droppings in the firebox and on the shelf alone, keep the damper closed, and let the clean-out take care of them.

The screen size that keeps animals out

Section R1003.9.2 of Florida's residential code is where the screen size comes from. The openings must not let a sphere half an inch across pass through, and must not block one of three-eighths of an inch. Its heat and corrosion resistance has to match 19-gauge galvanized steel or 24-gauge stainless steel, or better, and the open area of the arrestor must add up to four times the flue outlet's area or more.

A cap built to those numbers closes the flue to birds and larger animals while leaving it enough open area to draw. A screen with larger holes, or one torn open, does not.

What we confirm in Atlantic Beach before any removal

Identification of what is in the flue, and the evidence behind it
One-way exclusion device placement and the date it comes off
Nest material and droppings cleared from the shelf, damper and flue
Flue tiles and smoke chamber checked for damage once clear

Before anyone reaches into the flue

Will the animal come back after it leaves?

It can, as long as the way in stays open. So the job ends with the entry closed, whether by a screened cap, a repaired crown or a fixed chase cover.

Is it legal to cap a chimney with birds nesting in it?

Not when the birds are chimney swifts with an active nest, which federal law protects. The cap waits until they have migrated, and the damper stays closed in the meantime.