Summer doesn’t just bring with it greenery & flowers and warmer weather, it also brings birds. Normally birds are fine creatures (except when they wake you up incredibly early on weekend days) but sometimes they can be downright dangerous (and we don’t mean like in Hitchcock’s “The Birds”). Turns out that birds enjoy chilling out in dryer vents which isn’t great news for you.
Why exactly do birds enjoy hanging out in your vents so much? It’s actually quite understandable - vents are high up off the ground & away from predators, plus they protect from the elements; AND they’re a super place for building nests, not only because they automatically come with some fluffy nest-building materials, but because the warmth from the vents helps to incubate eggs. There’s also the case of the baby bird who accidentally tumbles in and just gets stuck (this even happens to adult birds every once in awhile because the narrow space restricts their wing movement). So while birds are mostly dealing with a win-win situation here, you are definitely not.
Birds nests aren’t the neatest things in the world, and they’re made from very dry, very flammable materials. Add those materials to a heated & enclosed space and you have an instant fire hazard. Since those messy materials tend to be twigs, grass, & leaves that means you’re also breathing in allergens. Next, add bird droppings into the mix and you suddenly have incredibly odious odors and unhealthy air. So far, none of this is equaling up to a good time for you. But there’s MORE. (Of course, there is…) Birds are wild, outdoor creatures and so they bring with them a little thing called bird mites. These are teeny tiny bugs that survive by drinking the bird’s blood (how very vampiric of them). When the mite population grows out of hand though is when you’re in trouble - those blood-suckers will take up residence in your home looking for tasty snacks. Admittedly, they can’t really survive on humans for long, but they cause skin irritation and discomfort.
You’ll know when you have birds stuck in your dryer vents though. For one, you’ll hear quite a bit of noise - either of the chirping variety as babies look for mom & dad or of the scratching, scuffling variety as a bird tries desperately to escape. The other way you’ll know is when you start to smell something unpleasant (either because of droppings or because, unfortunately, a bird has died in the vents).
Great. You have birds in your vents, for sure, this is a thing that’s happening. Now what do you do? If it's a case of live birds, it's best to call the professionals, aka "critter control", so they can remove the little guys safely and humanely. If the birds have flown the coop, however, then you need to clean that dryer vent out (again, best to leave things to the professionals as we're equipped to remove every last speck of bird habitat left behind).
Having birds stuck in your dryer vents is definitely not a fun experience, but it doesn’t have to be a total disaster either. Birds can be removed safely, humanely, and cleanly with less fuss than one would think. The most important thing is to do something about the situation as soon as you’re aware of it. Otherwise, you’re simply courting disaster.
We're the experts for professional NY Metro Dryer Vent Cleaning & repair! Give us a call at 845-610-2779 so NY Metro Dryer Vent Wizard can help you save energy, time, and money. Some of the towns we service include: Orange County NY, Rockland County NY, Middletown NY, Tuxedo Park NY, Warwick NY the surrounding NY Metro & Northern NJ areas!
