UGH - stupid birds are gonna cost me

[CyndiLooWho]

The perils of living in a newish subdivision with few trees - I have birds in both dryer vents, at least one exhaust vent, and the chimney. I wasn't too worried about the first dryer vent, as we no longer use that dryer, but I really don't need them in all these places! I just tried to put something in that particular dryer, and the smell is atrocious!

The new dryer vent runs between the basement ceiling and the living room floor, and I can hear the birds bouncing all over the place and making a racket. They've only been there about a week, so the dryer is still usable, but UGH!

Unfortunately, most of these vents are quite high (second floor of a house on a walkout basement), which means dh can't take care of them and won't let me do it (I'm a bit clumsy and he won't let me on the ladder. He has a point there...). Plus, he's out of the country and couldn't handle it anyway.

So now we're going to be out $$ to have Critter Ridders come out and remove the birds and their detritus, sanitize everything, and put bird-proof caps or screens on all the vents. That sucks. We have an expensive trip this fall and next summer, and I just don't need to have that money flying out the door right now. :/

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

We had that problem a couple years back ... those birds are tenacious!!! Get the critter guys out NOW before you have baby birds. Trust me on this: You really don't want a dead baby bird trapped in a vent in the middle of July!!!

 

[Swimalie]

My next door neighbor had renters who had this problem. They put the covers over themselves (well, actually my husband did it) and it worked to keep the birds out but the lint in there now is out of control and a huge fire hazard. It scares us because the house is only 20 feet from ours! So watch the dryer lint once you put the covers over. They also have a bathroom vent right near there and now the birds are living in that vent. It is so loud in the house, too. The house will be officially sold at the end of the month and we're really, really hoping the new owners will clean it all out.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

My next door neighbor had renters who had this problem. They put the covers over themselves (well, actually my husband did it) and it worked to keep the birds out but the lint in there now is out of control and a huge fire hazard. It scares us because the house is only 20 feet from ours! So watch the dryer lint once you put the covers over. They also have a bathroom vent right near there and now the birds are living in that vent. It is so loud in the house, too. The house will be officially sold at the end of the month and we're really, really hoping the new owners will clean it all out.

There are actually vent covers made esp for dryer vents, that do not have screening. One has a rotating "paddle wheel" the keeps the birds out and one is a double cap system that is closed when the dryer is off and open when it's on. I will be checking with the critter people to see what they use.

Our openings all had the louvered covers, which are fine when new, but warp during the hot summer, allowing the birds to open the louvers as the cover ages.

 

[blondietink]

Yep, we used to have the louvered cover and the birds got it open and put so many sticks in the dryer vent it was unbelievable! We had to take apart the vent, get all of the stuff out and put it back together. Got a cover now that has the door on it that opens when it is drying and closes when no air is going through.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Gee, it must be that time of year - they can't get out here until May 30...

 

[Frye7127]

We bought a house last year that had a new roof put on about two years ago. This year, we have had squirrels and birds roosting in our soffits and roof. The exterminator came out and found 9 places where the flashing was missing (where the birds were building their nests) and $800 later, we are critter free. Our home is finally quiet. So would have loved to use that $800 for something else.

 

[Swimalie]

There are actually vent covers made esp for dryer vents, that do not have screening. One has a rotating "paddle wheel" the keeps the birds out and one is a double cap system that is closed when the dryer is off and open when it's on. I will be checking with the critter people to see what they use.

Our openings all had the louvered covers, which are fine when new, but warp during the hot summer, allowing the birds to open the louvers as the cover ages.

Thanks. I'll have to let the new owners know so they can replace the cover again.

 

[Chelley00]

Get them out now and let them clean and sanitize. I kept telling DH I thought we had a birds nest in our bathroom vent and he kept ignoring it. We left for vacation and when we came home realized the bird finally left with the big babies but the nest and apparently a dead one stayed behind.

We ended up getting bird mites because of it. It was MISERABLE. When the bird host leaves, they try to find another host, which was me. I had bites everywhere we could see a film of mites on some surfaces. It was VERY expensive and time consuming to get rid of them. It was awful.

 

[tina.tina]

I didn't think about the health hazards until I read about the bird mites.

My cousin contracted an illness that birds usually only get. It wasn't the bird flu, but it affected her lungs terribly. She's a smoker so it was even worse for her. They're not sure how she picked it up but she lives in a rural area and they said that she could have gotten it walking through an area where birds have been.