How to stop birds from nesting in high dryer vents without cleaning a clog
Birds flip open exterior dryer vent flaps and nest inside, but standard mesh cages catch too much lint. This forces homeowners to climb ladders every few months to clear the blockage before it becomes a fire hazard.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1covering the vent with a bird cageDid this help you?
- 2using a long hose for a vacuum to clean the cage from the groundDid this help you?
- 3installing a vent with a magnetic doorDid this help you?
- 4leaving roof vent pipes uncoveredDid this help you?
- 5researching different vent cap models or adding tape to secure the fitDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a Ruud/Rheem high efficiency furnace and when we tried to turn it on for the first time this morning, we got an error 57.”source ↗
“Is it ok to put a piece of screen/mesh over the vent to keep the smaller kritters out, or will that cause me issues in the winter when the temps drop?”source ↗
“I want to cover the three vent pipes on my roof to keep out rodents. I haven't had a problem yet, but I know the previous owners at some point had rats coming through the toilets (nightmare).”source ↗
“Anyways, will these be fine with weather conditions I get? I don't exactly know what comes out of these pipes and I've read that vent caps can freeze over and block fumes in…”source ↗
Where this came up
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