What Should I Do If an Animal Is Stuck in My Chimney?

By the Miles Chimney Sweep team · Published Aug 21, 2026

If you hear scratching, chirping, or fluttering inside your chimney, keep the fireplace closed and do not light a fire. Lighting one is the single worst thing you can do: it will not scare a trapped animal up and out, it will smoke or burn it, and it can pack a dead animal or nesting debris against your flue. Make sure the glass doors or a fireplace cover stay shut so the animal cannot get into your living room, then figure out whether it can climb out on its own or needs a professional. One surprising catch: certain birds nesting in your flue are protected by federal law and legally cannot be removed until they leave.

First, figure out what you are dealing with

The right response depends on the animal and where it is sitting in the chimney system. Sound and behavior give you clues before anyone climbs anywhere.

• Frantic fluttering and light chirping, usually near the top: often a bird that flew in and cannot find its way back up the narrow flue.
• Persistent scratching, scrambling, or claws on metal: commonly a squirrel or, on the smoke shelf above the damper, a raccoon that climbed down and cannot climb back up a smooth flue.
• Rapid chittering high in the flue during summer, often several birds: this may be chimney swifts, a migratory species that deliberately roosts and nests inside masonry chimneys.

You do not need to identify the animal perfectly. You need to keep it out of your house and decide whether it can leave on its own.

Warning signs and safe homeowner steps

Keep everyone, including pets, out of the room while you work, and move slowly so you do not panic the animal further.

• Keep the fireplace sealed. Make sure glass doors are latched or a sturdy cover is in place. A scared squirrel or raccoon will bolt into a bright room the moment it finds an opening.
• Do not open the damper into the house. Opening it can drop the animal, or a nest and droppings, straight onto your hearth and into the room.
• Do not attempt roof access. Working at the top of a chimney is a fall hazard, and lowering ropes or reaching into a flue is not a safe do-it-yourself job.
• Give a bird a way toward daylight, carefully. If a bird is loose above a closed damper and you can dim the room and open a nearby exterior door or window, birds instinctively move toward light and may find their own way out. If it stays trapped in the flue, it needs help.

When a bird is federally protected

Chimney swifts are a migratory bird that nests inside chimneys, and like most native birds they are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. While an active nest holds eggs or young, it is illegal to remove or disturb them without a federal permit. The humane and lawful path is to wait until the young have fledged and the birds have left, then have the flue cleaned and a cap installed so they cannot return. If you suspect swifts, do not treat this as a pest problem. For that specific situation, see our guide on how to get birds out of a chimney.

The professional solution

For a raccoon, a squirrel that will not leave, an injured bird, or any animal you cannot see, call a chimney professional or a licensed wildlife removal service. Trapped animals can bite, scratch, and carry disease, and raccoons in particular may be defending young. A pro can inspect the flue, remove the animal humanely, and check for a second problem homeowners rarely think about: a nest, carcass, or chewed debris left behind becomes a blockage. That is why removal should be paired with a look up the flue and, when needed, a cleaning. Our chimney animal removal visits also include checking whether droppings or nesting material have fouled the flue.

Prevention: a cap is the permanent fix

Almost every animal-in-the-chimney call traces back to one thing: an open flue with no cap, or a cap that has rusted, blown off, or lost its screen. A properly fitted chimney cap with sound mesh keeps birds, squirrels, raccoons, and rain out while still letting smoke escape. Once the current animal is gone, a cap is what stops the next one. Learn more in our article on whether you need a chimney cap, and if you already have one, our piece on chimney caps versus chase covers explains what protects the rest of the chimney top. Have your cap and flue checked during your annual inspection so a small gap does not turn into next spring's houseguest.

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