Are there birds chirping in your dryer vent?
This was unfortunately the case for one recent Lexington, KY client of Trifecta Wildlife Services. Broken, missing, or low-quality dryer vents on the side of a home create a cavity that birds like European Starlings may exploit for nesting. Birds occupying your dryer vent, especially when they’ve deposited nesting materials in the vent pipe, can create a fire hazard and lead to inefficient clothes dryer operation. Additionally, while an adult bird may be able to vacate the vent if the dryer is turned on, young that may be present could unfortunately succumb to the heat, and making matters worse, dead animals in your venting can lead to foul odors in your dryer on top of the previously mentioned issues.
In the case of our recent client the birds were successfully evicted with an easy do-it-yourself fix, but the fix I saw was also concerning. The client had duct-taped window screen over the dryer vent pipe exit as pictured below:
While this functioned to keep out birds, it unsafely traps lint in the pipe creating a fire hazard and inefficient dryer operation. It’s worth mentioning that cold air also comes right in costing you $$$ during cold winter months. This next picture shows a view of the dangerous clogging on the inside of the vent pipe:
The proper fix was the professional installation a quality and low-profile dryer vent like this No-Pest Dryer Vent that uses a dual-flapper system to maintain tight closure of the vent when not in operation. This dryer vent will safely expel heat and lint while keeping out the birds and the cold air too!
Dryer is on to illustrate vent in operation
No-Pest Dryer Vent prior to install showing the closed position of the vent
