Uncovered Chimney is an Open Invitation for Birds in Asbury Park, NJ
Challenge
We went out on a service call from a homeowner in Asbury Park, NJ who was having an issue with birds nesting in his gutters. As soon as we arrived and began our inspection, we noticed a few birds hovering around the gutters on the left side of the home. As we took a closer look, we saw a handful of starlings fly right out of the soffit! As we began inspecting we found bird droppings and a nest not just in the soffit, but in the chimney as well! Turns out the starlings were able to gain access into the home through a tiny hole in the soffit and through the chimney.
Starlings can be one of the most popular birds when it comes to nesting inside soffits and chimneys. They have a black, speckled coloration, a very short tail, and prefer urban or suburban habitats where man-made structures give them ample nesting. Starlings are one of the worst nuisance species in North America and carry a host of diseases.
Solution
First, we sanitized and deodorized the nesting areas in order to carefully clean the bird droppings. Starling droppings may contain the histoplasmosis fungus. Histoplasmosis is a disease affecting the lungs that can be fatal if left untreated. It is usually contracted when humans inhale the spores of the fungus, which become airborne if the droppings are disturbed. Once the soffit and the chimney have been fully sanitized, we carefully removed the bird nests.
Next, to prevent birds from gaining into the home, we sealed up the hole in the soffit with hardware cloth and plywood and placed a chimney cap over the chimney. A chimney cap is made with a 24 gauge galvanized steel to prevent anything from gaining access into a home. The homeowner was thrilled that his home is now free of annoying starlings and protected from any future bird or wildlife invasions.
