Hi Folks
Have some questions on what's invovled in removing starlings and nest materials from vents. How far in do they usualy nest, what types of tools do you use to remove nest materials, do you ever approach the problem from inside the home i.e. removing the fan to do the clean out? Thanks ahead for any help you can provide.

Regards

Gary

Nest is usually within 1' of hood, tools vary with the job (chimney rods, shop vac, plumber's snake, Starling Stopper, etc.), only remove fan if bird(s)are at fan.
Many factors determine how job is approached; there's no simple answer.
Might be a good podcast, Robb!

Everythin Dave said it's kind of a mcgiver thing. I always wear safety glasses and mask because at some point you will be running the fan and looking in the vent and stuff will be blowing in your face.

if the nest has been there for a few years being used over and over the nest may be 3 or 4 feet deep, and not uncommon for 2 rod depth in my area

2 rod? Thats 37ft! Are you sure?

trapperpaw is right it's kind of a macgiver thing.

I recommend the dryer vent cleaning kit sold by WCS. I'm now seeing these kits sold in some of the big box stores but please buy from WCS. You're also going to need a shop vac and plenty of hose. Pool/spa hose is the same as shop vac upgrade hose and the twist on fittings fit it as well and can be bought in 100' lengths, whole roll, or bought in one foot increments. I recommend at least twenty five feet, I have nearly a hundred. The biggest HP shop vacs are a must when running long runs of hose and HEPA filters.

The biggest problems I see with duct work is in the bath exhaust vents aka fart fans. Most of these are run through the joist system between the sheetrock below and the subfloor above making them inaccessible for replacement without cutting. This means that if the duct is the cheap POS plastic flex duct extra care is called for to ensure that the removal process does not breach or destroy the duct. I really do wish these fart fan ducts were ducted with solid pipe like most long run of dryer vent are.
Depending upon just how impacted they are with nesting debris I've had to work from both ends to clear them up. I would never start one of these jobs by trying to push the blockage out from the interior as a bad blockage plus pushing with the cleanout kit could breach the duct. Instead I prefer to use the shop vac from either end or both to suck out debris a bit at a time to break up the clog. I have in the past used an alternate method when the vac couldn't be used. I have a large gauge extension cord on the truck and by using duct tape reversed sticky side out to make a "q-tip" like head I've been able to shove this down some of the trickier pipes and ducts to pull out debris.
I would really be interested in hearing from others who have replaced the flex type duct without cutting. I do not offer replacement, mainly because it veers into electrical work, and make that clear to the client. I assume you could pull the duct like wiring but you would need to use the old busted flimsy duct to either pull the new or a snake to attach the new to. This would probably necessitate dropping the fan and possibly the housing.

Done. Who is gonna lead this discussion? John Pearson "Starling Stopper" I hope you can make this one too.




... also here is a link off of Wildlfie Control Supplies Web Site referencing starlings. http://wildlifecontrolsupplies.blogspot.com/2007/06/starling-stopper.html

Don't forget all the critters that crawl up your arm while pulling out nesting material and also some of the doozy ways contractors run the ductwork for the range hoods and bathroom vents

Just a word of caution. Starlings aren't the only species that nest in vents. In this area I've seen rough winged swallows in vents. All the rules still apply.

I like warrior try to make use of the old vent pipe if possible. Sometimes it is breached or just totally nasty. In thes cases hopfully you at least have a straight shot to the fan. I put a tarp down in the bath room then drop the fan. Then I duct tape a strong string to the end of a chimney rod. Run the chimney rod from the outside thru the vent hose to the fan opening area. I will if the hole in the brick is big enough pull out the old vent tube. You may have to bring it in. Then I take the string I slip knot and duct tape it to the end of the new tube and try to taper the end a little. I slip the new vent hose over the chimney rod. If you have a helper it is much easier but it can be done alone like we mostly are. Feed as much in as you can. If you are alone you will have to go in and pull with the string and maybe jiggle the rod. Go back out and feed some more hopfully you can get it all all fed in in one or two trips. Pull and jiggle until you have it all the way to the fan then put it back together. You will snag on a wire or a joist but you will get it thru with patience and persistance. If it looks easier do the same thing but come from the inside. It is easier to put the chimney rod thru the old vent as it is already thru the obstacle course. If you take out the old vent hose first your rod will invariably go behind or between a wire or something.

One other way I have considered is buy a couple of adapters for two to four inch hose and replace the 4 inch with 2 inch hose and pull it thru the four inch hose by the chimney rod method of my previous post. Then I would anchor the two inch hose and pull the old hose off the two incher I don't think that would over heat the fan motor by restricting the flow. I thought that might work if tolerances were to tight to feed the new four incher through.

Next Sunday Night !!

Ok this sunday night I need your help to join us and talk all things related to Starlings this Sunday Night/

[Starlings in Attics & Vents -By The Numbers]

[1]Getting starlings out of vents
[2] Removing & cleaning out large starling nests out of attics safely
[3] Recommended Bird Control Techniques

Time: 05/05/2013 08:00 PM EDT
Tele: 1-724-444-7444
Call ID: 16456