• Home
  • Home Tours
    • Home Tour – Current House
      • Paint Colors & Sources
      • Full House Tour
      • front porch
      • Entryway
      • living room
      • kitchen
      • Dining Area
      • playroom
      • nursery
      • bonus room / loft
      • basement
      • deck
    • Home Tour – First House
      • Full House Tour
      • front porch
      • entryway
      • kitchen
      • home office
      • living room
      • dining room
      • great room
      • nursery
      • master bedroom
      • master bathroom
      • guest bedroom
      • guest bathroom
      • laundry room
      • pantry
      • Closets
      • outdoor
  • Lifestyle
    • organization
    • gardening
    • hair & beauty
    • christmas
    • travel
    • tips and tricks
    • stories
    • party
    • Gift Ideas
    • wedding anniversary gift ideas
    • debt free
    • blogging
    • photography
    • personal
    • podcast
  • baby
    • pregnancy
    • baby & kid organization
    • nursery
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Travel Tips
    • Favorite Products
    • child safety
    • Holiday
  • Projects
    • Home Decor
    • organization
    • outdoor
    • furniture
    • christmas
    • holiday
    • wreaths
    • printables
    • sewing
    • wedding
    • car series
  • recipes
    • desserts
    • appetizer
    • meals
    • holiday foods
    • drink
    • kid
  • Shop
    • Amazon Storefront
    • Affiliate Links
    • Shop My House
    • Shop My Closet
    • Shop Gift Guides
    • Shop Baby & Kid
    • Shop Toys
    • Shop My Favorites
    • Shop Holiday
  • About
    • Meet Chelsea
    • FAQ
    • Advertise
    • Press
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Two Twenty One

When Birds Attack… Your Dryer

3 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
This is a cautionary tale… and a true story. 

It all started on a Wednesday this past March. I kept hearing a strange sound coming from our laundry room. Perplexed, I called Brad at work, told him about the noise, and said, “Could there be a bird in our dryer vent line that goes outside?” I’m pretty sure he brushed me off. By that evening the sound had stopped, so I figured if it was a bird, it went on its merry way.

Thursday evening I needed to do laundry. I put my first load into the dryer, set it for 60 minutes and went about my domestic business. After about 20 minutes I heard the dryer stop. I thought that was strange but then again maybe I had lost track of time. Brad was passing me on his way toward the laundry room so I asked him to check on the laundry. A few seconds later, I hear him say, “What’s that burning smell?” We tried restarting the dryer. Nothing. As you can imagine, my first thought went to that stupid bird.

source
A few days later our appliance man came over to figure out what happened with the dryer. Our problem? A sparrow. Decapitated and stuck in the blower of the dryer. Yep, “Jack Sparrow”, as I called him, decided to commit suicide in our dryer. Jack Sparrow managed to climb through our outside dryer vent cover (the crisscross pattern was big enough for the bird to collapse its rib cage to get in), and make its way down the vent line and into our dryer.

Our appliance man said that he does about a dozen of these bird removals a year. When he opened up the back of the dryer and declared that it was a bird, I handed him my camera and asked him to take a picture. He laughed and said that I was the first customer to ask for a photo. You betcha, appliance guy, I needed photographic evidence. Want to see the photos? You know you do. Ok, click here. Keep in mind that these images are of a mangled bird, but it’s no worse than looking at roadkill.

$125 later, Jack Sparrow had a proper burial… in our garbage can.

Our appliance man sold us a $5 pest barricade to put over our current vent cover. So, the lesson from this story is to buy a pest barricade and save yourself from a $125 sparrow removal fee. Remember, it’s getting cold outside and dryer vents are warm and toasty. Warm and toasty death traps.

How a $5 pest barricade can save you $125+!

And get this. A couple weeks after the dryer incident, I hit a bird with my car. Well, actually, it flew into the grill of my car while I was driving. I drove around with it stuck in the grill for the entire day until Brad got home from work to remove it. Was it bird revenge for Jack Sparrow? Perhaps. But I win, you lose, bird.



Have you ever had to deal with an avian suicide?
Be honest, who was curious and looked at the photos?

Filed Under: our home, random, tips and tricks

Never miss a post from Two Twenty One!

Get the latest DIY projects, organization ideas, tips & tricks and more delivered to your inbox!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
« Free Crappy Portrait
Wedding Invitation Ornament »

Comments

  1. Meggan of Lila Grace says

    December 19, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that happened to you guys! I haven’t had a bird stuck in our dryer vent, but if I hear a strange noise, now I wil know what it could be! I have never killed a bird when driving, but if you can imagine, a turkey vulture landed on the hood of my car once! LOL

    Reply
  2. smalltownbigwardrobe says

    December 19, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    I ran into a bird while driving to Btown one day – the damn thing exploded all over my car and scared me half to death!! Who knew this would even be an issue? At least you have a nice dryer vent cover now. 🙂

    Reply
  3. the girl in the red shoes says

    December 19, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Oh my word. So gross! Thankfully this hasn’t happened to us…yuck! And I love the put a bird clip…I quote that all the time and no one gets it!

    Reply
  4. Just a Jersey Girl says

    December 19, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    Oh no! Poor birds! Poor you for having to pay after a suicide! I was going to click the pics, but I’m sick so I’m gonna pass lol

    Reply
  5. Rachel says

    December 19, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    WHY DID I CLICK THE LINK TO LOOK AT THE DEAD BIRD? That was gross. In a college apartment once, we used to be able to hear birds chirping in our dryer vent, but I think they were all smart enough to climb out before getting decapitated. Poor Jack. Also, I LOVE that clip–hilarious 🙂

    Reply
  6. Mrs. Kee says

    December 19, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Amazingly enough I HAVE had to deal with avian suicide! Around the time I got my license, a bird flew into my windshield one time and, not knowing what to do, I turned on the windshield wipers so then the bird was freaking out having to deal with those. My sister looked over at me and said “Mother Nature just doesn’t like you today” It was crazy.

    Reply
  7. Ms. Salti says

    December 19, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    I hit a mallard a couple years ago. There were three I could see were flying really low and knew they were going to hit the side of the minivan in front of me. Sure enough, the first one flew right into the window and died. The 2nd one, wondering what happened to his friend, circled back to check it out, and I hit him with my bumper. I went home and bawled for hours!!!

    I’m new to your blog and love, love, love it!

    Reply
  8. So Domesticated says

    December 19, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    Was totally curious… poor bird. Oh well, that’s life.

    And yes… a seagull hit my windshield when I was driving on the freeway a few years back. Didn’t even crack the windshield, thank goodness!

    Reply
  9. DecorandtheDog says

    December 20, 2011 at 2:06 AM

    I have a bird phobia. Seriously. It’s bad.

    I did not click your photo. Even though I really want to. Only because you took the time to ask the nice repair man to take it for you. But I just can’t do it.

    I am happy that you are a bird murderer though. I thank you.

    Reply
  10. Jamie says

    December 21, 2011 at 1:21 AM

    Ewww. Poor, sad, headless bird. Maybe that’s what he gets for trying to cheat nature and get all toasty in the house?!

    Reply
  11. Kim @ NewlyWoodwards says

    December 21, 2011 at 2:40 AM

    Oh my goodness… this is a crazy story! And so sad about the bird. Jack Sparrow. I’m glad you got it taken care of.

    Reply
  12. Classy Fab Sarah says

    December 21, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    I am so terrified of birds, I have no word. I’m going to buy a cover TODAY.

    Reply
  13. saf says

    March 14, 2012 at 2:46 PM

    Coincidentally, it’s March and a Wednesday,I’m hearing some thrashing around coming from my laundry room and found this blog entry while “Googling” the possibility of a bird in my dryer. It’s quiet up there now. Guess I’ll wait until my hubby gets home this evening and let him investigate. Yikes!

    Reply
  14. Beauty By Lizy says

    August 20, 2012 at 10:35 AM

    OMG I looked at the photo… I couldn’t not do it. I just found your blog today and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! You’re hilarious Chelsea. Going crazy pinning all your recipes etc. Good job girlllll! xxx Lizy

    Reply
  15. Anne @strawberryjampackedlife says

    December 18, 2012 at 1:01 AM

    Ha! After we moved into our house, I heard strange noises coming from the laundry room. At first I thought someone had broken into our house, and then we figured out it was a bird. We tried another fix at first: replacing the vent door, but it didn’t work. We now have a very similar cage over the vent opening. Glad we never ended up with a dead bird in the dryer.

    Reply
  16. Lena says

    November 6, 2013 at 11:57 PM

    Yeah, same thing happened to us last year. I heard something in the laundry room and stopped the dryer (I thought maybe something was wrong with it and I didn’t want it to get worse). I called my husband and few hours later we found out that our pest barricade fell off. We managed to rescue the bird. Now we have one more duty to do: once a month my husband checks on the pest barricade to ensure it stays in place.

    Reply
  17. rita says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:35 PM

    I had the same problem this weekend. When i got home Friday I could here a noise in by the dryer. I hoped it was not a mouse. I pulled the dryer out & took the hose off. I found feathers and the dryer would not work. Did your dryer work after you took the bird out.
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Chelsea @ two twenty one says

      June 16, 2014 at 5:16 PM

      It worked after our appliance repair man cleaned the bird out of the dryer.

      Reply
  18. Laura says

    February 6, 2016 at 4:31 PM

    We apparently had an avian cult commit mass suicide. Four nicely dehydrated birds. Same scenario as you described! We were running a sparrow taxidermy and didn’t even know it.

    Reply
  19. Shali says

    February 23, 2016 at 9:57 PM

    I hit and killed a suicidal bird on Christmas a few years back. He was a male cardinal. Our state bird here in Kentucky. Also, i totally looked at the pictures. Curiosity got the best of me.

    Reply
  20. Nana says

    June 20, 2017 at 7:17 PM

    Well investigating why my bathroom (apt) had tons of black lint everywhere. Took dryer all apart and was surprised,, not my lint.

    So I’m thinking okay, the hose must be damaged I see no holes. Decide to shorten it and look inside remaining hose attached to wall. Tons of lint and thinking this isn’t good,, why? So I stick my hand in and retrieve a hard ball. I’m thinking what is this? Screamed like a girl when I heard the crunch and lint fell off it,, a dead full grown bird. Dropped it like it was hot!

    I’m not squeamish, but was sad and grossed out after scrubbing my hands and arms.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Never miss a post from Two Twenty One!

Get the latest DIY projects, organization ideas, tips & tricks and more delivered to your inbox!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

Two Twenty One is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Blog Policy

© Two Twenty One, 2011-2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited.

Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · glam theme by Restored 316 · Design by Stephanie Jones

Copyright © 2023 · Glam Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

3 shares