Mysterious odor throughout house turns out to be nesting birds in AC - Bird control in Brick, NJ

Challenge

A homeowner in Brick contacted Cowleys because she was experiencing a bad smell throughout in her home that appeared to be caused by some sort of wildlife infestation. Upon arrival, I discussed the situation with the customer to gain some more insight into the problem. There appeared to be no wildlife  gaining access the inside the home and to the homeowner’s knowledge, there were no access points and any signs of wildlife in they attic or elsewhere like droppings or nesting materials. Nevertheless, I confirmed that there was a pungent odor throughout the house. Wildlife was nesting somewhere around the perimeter something of the home and somehow its  pungent odors were being drawn into the home. I just had to determine how and why. My first instinct when there are wildlife odors in a home is that some animals, whether birds or rodents, have taken up residence inside a vent. However, there are usually accompanying noises and this homeowner was adamant that there were none. For example, when birds are walking around metal vent pipes, their sharp claws make quite a bit of noise.

It was time to start inspecting and solve the mystery. As I was investigating the home’s perimeter, all of the vents were in good repair with no holes or gaps. But I was determined to find the cause of this problem, and sure enough, I did. The culprits were birds were nesting on  the air conditioning unit whose droppings were seeping into the unit. Whenever the air conditioning unit was on, it distributed microscopic bird particles and their foul odors throughout the home.  

Animals, especially mice and birds, are attracted to air conditioning units because of the warm and safe environment they provide. Animals and air conditioning units don’t mix!  I’ve seen plenty of problems as a result. For example, rodents have access to chew up insulation and wiring, resulting in costly repairs. Also animals can die in the units, mice can easily become electrically shocked or mortally injured with the rapidly rotating fans. Birds can easily get caught in the fans, even jamming them. As dead animals decay inside the unit, homeowners can start to notice a sickening smell. Unfortunately, homeowners may have no idea that their ac unit is housing an animal nest until the unit stops working altogether.

With this Brick home, the bird droppings in the unit created a potentially dangerous situation. Bird droppings are toxic, containing many pathogens that become airborne when the droppings dry out. The air conditioning unit was pumping these spores throughout the home. Breathing them in can cause a host of respiratory fungal infections, including histoplasmosis.

Solution

To resolve the bird infestation and stop the odors, I relocated the nest to a tree far away from the house and then thoroughly cleaned the unit and the surrounding area.  The lesson here is that air conditioners should be regularly inspected and maintained, so if there is an animal problem, it will be detected early — before you start having mechanical problems or noticing strange smells in your home. Fortunately, with this Brick home, the birds were not nesting inside the unit. However, just having the bird droppings seeping inside was enough to cause problems for this homeowner.