Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Birds in the dryer vent
This is really off the beaten path....
I'm having trouble with birds building a nest in our dryer vent on the outside of our house. This involves shoving a ton of grass down the vent. I noticed the dryer wasn't getting anything dry, so went to check the outside for lint build up. We keep removing the grass. I've tried shutting the vent opening (they open on their own when the air vents from the dryer), but the birds have no trouble opening it back up.
Has anyone ever had something like this happen? I've been chasing them away with a broom, which works only as long as I stand there. I tried taping a plastic covering over the vent, but left it open on the sides so air could still vent from the dryer. That worked for a bit, but the tape won't stick in this heat for more than a few hours.
Sorry, I know this is a running website... not fix my random problem website. I wore my Brooks Pure flows and had just finished a tempo run before climbing the ladder to chase the birds away with a broom. There, I tied it to running.
tl; dr version: Anyone have good tips for keeping birds from building nests on / near your house?
Dryer vent gaurds are like $3.99 at home depot. Google "dryer vent bird gaurd".
MTA: but spell it right: guard
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You should have a screen over the opening, between the outside and the flapper. Yours is apparently either missing or your vent so old you don't have one.
I had the similar issue but it was with chipmunks. Go buy a replacement vent (at any Lowe's/Home Depot type place). It comes with the last 2-3 feet of vent pipe. It is typically not a hard DIY job, took me about an hour to replace and caulk in.
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Awesome! Thank you so much! Wish all my problems were so easily solved... and by RA, no less.
It is typically not a hard DIY job, took me about an hour to replace and caulk in.
Thanks for this tip, also. Climbing on the ladder with the broom is about the extent of my skills, so I'll see if my husband can do this.
Our vent definitely doesn't have a screen on it. Those little birds just fly straight in. I'd be impressed by it if it weren't so annoying! I just want to fix it before one gets stuck down there and dies. Then I'd really have a problem.
Joggaholic
I have a sparrow or something doing that to my vent also. It wasn't a dryer vent, probably just the vent from a bathroom, and I was too lazy to put up a wire mesh or covering to it since the bird hasn't really given me a lot of problem. Last summer I did have a sudden appearance of lots and lots of flies inside the house (like dozens of them every day for several days), I suspected a baby bird died in the nest and flies started coming in via the vent duct.
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I've not actually tried this, but I've heard putting a fake snake next to any area you want to keep birds away from helps.
But if they make a product that specifically, physically keeps them out, it's probably more reliable than psychological warfare.
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You could stuff a cat in there.
Last summer I did have a sudden appearance of lots and lots of flies inside the house (like dozens of them every day for several days), I suspected a baby bird died in the nest and flies started coming in via the vent duct.
That's disgusting, and just what I'm hoping to avoid! I'll remember the snake idea in case the vent guard doesn't work out.
It was sort of fun hunting the flies down with a vacuum cleaner...
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I too had that problem with the birds in the vents. In fact, I had a bird get in there, peck its way through the tubing and it somehow got into the space in the wall inside the house. I had to cut a hole in the sheetrock to let it get out before it died in there.
As mentioned above, Home Depot for a few bucks you can get a bird guard and screw it in there with 4 screws, good to go. Or... get one of those kind with the flaps that only open up when the dryer is actually running.
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As mentioned above, Home Depot for a few bucks you can get a bird guard and screw it in there with 4 screws, good to go. Or... get one of those kind with the flaps that only open up when the dryer is actually running. .
Don't get those, that's what I already have (came with the house, I didn't put it on). The bird is smart enough to open it and get inside. It's easy because the hinge is very loose, all the bird needed to do was to nudge itself in from the bottom. A nest entrance with a door makes it an even better location for the bird.