What to do About a Squirrel in the Fireplace?

There is a Christmas song that is both hilarious and a bit creepy. It is a little girl singing “There Something In the Chimney.” The song is about her staying up to watch for Santa. It goes months from Christmas that year to the one next year. Well, Santa is not the only thing that can get stuck in your chimney. Detroit squirrels love chimneys and they can make lots of noise.



Squirrels choose chimneys because they think they are safe places to raise their young. Unfortunately this is not the case. It is much more dangerous in the chimney that outside. The Detroit squirrels can get stuck and unable to get food and water. And it is much easier to get a live squirrel out of the chimney than a dead one. There are several techniques that you can use to get the squirrel to leave on its own. Noise can make the squirrel leave. Get a speaker and put it in your fire place, then put the volume on the highest setting. Choose a hard rock song and let’er rip. Like any other Michigan animal, the squirrel will be startled and run out of the chimney are breathtaking speed. It sounds mean, but if it gets the squirrel to the outside and it stays there, it is actually very humane.

If the noise doesn’t work, try a 3/4 inch rope. Tie one end to the chimney (make sure you can retrieve it) and lower the other end down. Make sure that it goes down to the damper. The Detroit squirrel will eventually climb the rope. Once you are sure the squirrel is gone, get the rope.

Another way is to bait a humane trap with peanut butter and place it inside the fireplace. If the Detroit squirrel gets past you and the trap, do not chase the Michigan squirrel! You will risk injury to the squirrel, yourself and your home. Remember The Griswald’s Christmas Vacation.? Simply change the position of the trap so the squirrel can get in and leave the room. After using any of these methods, make sure to cap your chimney with a commercially made cap. Do not, for any reason, try to smoke out the squirrels. The babies will burn up and die, but the panicked adult Michigan squirrel will jump through the damper and into the house! Not a good idea!

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