Birds in our vents--Need duct cleaning recommendation (houses, closing)

[cav fan]

Unfortunately some starlings have attempted to take up residence in the exterior vents of our house. One of them found its way too far down the vent and got stuck in the air intact duct near our furnace. The birds have been evicted, and long story short--we need someone to clean out these vents to vacuum any nesting material that may be in there.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a reputable duct cleaning company? We live in Loudoun County.

Thanks in advance.

[sullyguy]

Leaf blower from inside to out - whoosh!

And that's not kidding.

[cav fan]

Originally Posted by sullyguy

Leaf blower from inside to out - whoosh!

And that's not kidding.

Thanks for the idea. If our ducts were short and accessible enough, I would probably try that. I think we just need a big vacuum, though.

[slduvall]

Going thru this as well. We had a smell last year when we moved in..a bird got stuck..maybe the babies. It was horrible, eventually went away. Well the damn things are back. We got a long flexible hook thing and dug most of it out. It kept coming. The problem is this isn't the vent for the dryer, it is about halfway up to the second floor. I think it is the vent for the stovetop, since that is where the smell was bad last year.

Can't even begin to imagine how to get to it, other than dismantling the fan.

Interested to see what others have done to cover the vent. It has a flap, but that isn't stopping them.

[sullyguy]

Originally Posted by slduvall

Interested to see what others have done to cover the vent. It has a flap, but that isn't stopping them.

Large gauge screen works well - about a quarter inch, maybe 3/8" (maybe 1 cm?) hole size.

For example: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001IMLNU/...SIN=B0001IMLNU

[cav fan]

Originally Posted by sullyguy

Large gauge screen works well - about a quarter inch, maybe 3/8" (maybe 1 cm?) hole size.

For example: Amazon.com: 3"-4" Vent Guard: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Yes, this is the same thing I bought to install over the vents on the outside of our house. If there is no cage over the vent, the starlings can just flip up the cover with their beaks and fly right in. I have seen them do it on our house as well as a couple of our neighbors' houses.

[marie5v]

I think pretty much any vent cleaner will probably be ok - just make sure they put screens over the vents. If you don't do it soon, the birds will be back (probably within a couple weeks).

[cdmurphy]

We had the $&!?@ starlings in our dryer vent a few years ago. We called a pest control company, and they removed the nest and installed one of those white cages. The following year, our dryer started taking longer to dry a load, so we called Dryer Vent Wizard. They found more nest (the other guys didn't get it all) and said that those cages don't let enough air through (they are fine for blocking exhaust vents, but not for lint - and yes, the starlings will get into your bathroom vents too). They replaced it with a louvered vent and since then we haven't had any problems with lint build-up or birds. I am not sure if there is screening behind the louvers. We have the cages on the other vents.

Here is a vent that claims to work better than other types - No Nest Vent from the Dryerbox People

[irisheyes13]

Wow, what a timley thread for me.. Just last night I was on our deck looking up at our dryer vent and thinking that it looked vulnerable to birds deciding to nest.. It is the flap type and used to close pretty flush but I noticed last night that it is no longer closing tightly.. I just contacted a company to come out and clean and replace the vent! Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Call a local Chimney Sweeping company....they got a whole nest of birds out of my chimney...and capped it for me, so it wouldn't happen again! They can also clean out dryer vents, and gutters!!!!