How do you get a bird out of your furnace pipes?

[JoyfulMama]

:confused: Yes. A bird. In the vent pipe for the furnace. I don't even know where the vent opening is outside, as I can't find it. Yet there is a bird. Luckily there is also an interior flap. So I have propped that open, and hopefully the bird will end up in the basement.

So then, how do I get a bird out of the basement? Well, I would open the bulkhead doors, but it's raining, or half-raining, and we will be leaving soon. So the way I figure it, I either end up with a dead bird in the furnace vent, or I end up with a dead bird in the basement. :ack2: Dead bird in the basement should be easier to clean up.

 

And I STILL have to find out where the vent opening is on the exterior of the house...

[Mrs Mungo]

I have no idea, but GAAAAAHHHH!!! :grouphug:

[radiobrain]

Turn on all the lights in the basement, so it sees that it should go there.

 

Once it is in the basement, turn all the lights off and open up whatever door/window will let light in.... also go away.

 

It should go out.

 

At least that is what I think should happen.

 

(I have had birds and bats get into my house. It really takes patience. Bats are harder... so consider yourself lucky :tongue_smilie:)

[tuckabella]

I don't know either. But, apparently, it is sort of normal. It happened to my sister and SOMEHOW got the birds, yes plural, birds out of there. They were babies and they looked UGLY, sort of like vultures. Apparently they somehow get pushed down there by their parent(s) and then the parent birds send food down there. VERY STRANGE.

Now, we had a little sparrow get in ours. It came out the little vent above our hot water heater and then we opened the bulk-head doors and it flew out. Beware of letting it stay in your basement though while you are not home. There will likely be a lot of c*ap everywhere from a stressed bird flying around trying to get out.

We had to get the metal mesh-looking stuff fixed up at the opening of our chimney to prevent it from happening again and again.

Good luck!

[JoyfulMama]

Thanks, everyone!

 

OK... so now I have to go down into the basement and make sure the bird is out of the vent pipe. I haven't heard it in the vent pipe since I got home about 45 minutes ago.

 

Wish me luck!

 

I can't open the outside door until tomorrow, as I don't want to take the chance of some other creature getting in (there's many here). Hoping the rain holds off until after the sun rises!!!

[KidsHappen]

I think I called a chimney sweep. I have had to have birds removed from both the bathroom vent and the dryer vent since I moved into this house. There are flap doors outside on both vents but apparently the birds have learned how to open the flaps and fly inside. The one that was in the bathroom vent built a nest and had babies. We put screen on all outside vents but they have taken up nesting on porches and in rafters around here, bascially anywhere they can that is warm and protected. There doesn't seem to be much that repels them either (I have four cat :confused:).

[JoyfulMama]

Well I think I scared it enough to make it try to get out the way it got in. :D At least that's what I'm hoping. Finally got a chance to tell DH about the whole escapade tonight over dinner, and he'll try to get up to check out the vent and the chimney (as we have a reported nest up there, as witnessed by a child who stares out his window waiting for the sun to rise every morning). He said "Oh, so that must be why the cats were going crazy by the vents." :lol: