Wildlife | Seasonally Restricted
Bat Exclusion in Florida: The Work Has a Legal Calendar
Bats in Florida are protected, and exclusion is only legal for part of the year. If somebody offers to remove bats from your attic in June, they are describing something the state prohibits.
The Calendar
You Cannot Legally Exclude Bats Between 16 April and 14 August
This is the most important thing on this page and it is not negotiable by any company, at any price.
Florida’s bat maternity season, when the state’s bats give birth and raise their young, runs from 16 April through 14 August each year. During that window it is illegal to block bats from returning to their roosts, because flightless pups get trapped inside the structure and die. The FWC is explicit that exclusion devices may only be used from 15 August through 15 April, and that permits are required to use them during maternity season.
It is also illegal in Florida to kill or harm bats at all. There is no legal product, spray, repellent or trap you can use on them. Exclusion devices, which let bats exit but block them from returning, are described by the FWC as the only legal and effective method of removing roosting bats from a structure.
So if you have bats and it is May, the honest answer is that the exclusion has to wait until 15 August. What can be done in the meantime is an inspection, planning, and sealing of openings that are demonstrably not being used as entry or exit points. Anyone telling you otherwise in June is either uninformed or willing to break the law with your property.
Florida has 13 native bat species and they are genuinely beneficial. A single bat eats up to hundreds of insects a night, including mosquitoes. This is not a pest to be eliminated, it is an animal to be moved out and kept out.
Bats in the attic? Get the inspection done now and the work scheduled legally.
The Rules
What a Legal Bat Exclusion Actually Requires
- Timing. Exclusion devices only between 15 August and 15 April. Permits required to use them during maternity season, 16 April to 14 August.
- Full entry and exit survey first. Exclusion begins by identifying every potential entry and exit point on the building. The reliable way to find them is watching the bats emerge at dusk.
- Devices left up for a minimum of four nights. This is a stated FWC requirement, not a best practice.
- Overnight temperature forecast at or above 50°F. Exclusion must be conducted when it is warm enough, otherwise bats may not leave the roost.
- Openings sealed only when confirmed unused. Look for holes or crevices larger than half an inch, confirm they are not being used by bats, and seal those before the exclusion.
- Consider a bat house. Placing one nearby before the exclusion, ideally in the flight route, gives the colony somewhere to go. Occupancy is not guaranteed but the chance improves considerably.
Relevant rules are Florida Administrative Code 68A-4.001 on general prohibitions and 68A-9.010 on taking nuisance wildlife. If you want to check any of this yourself, the FWC publishes it under Bats in Buildings at myfwc.com.
Guano is a separate problem
Bat guano accumulates in a way rodent droppings usually do not, and in quantity it can harbour Histoplasma fungal spores. Cleanup is a decontamination job with proper respiratory protection, not something to sweep out, and it happens after the colony is excluded rather than before. If your attic air handler or return path runs through the affected space, that needs assessing too.
The Process
How a Legal Bat Job Runs
- Inspection and emergence count. Watching the bats exit at dusk to identify every entry and exit point and estimate colony size.
- Scheduling to the legal window. If it is maternity season, the exclusion is planned for after 15 August.
- Pre sealing. Openings confirmed as unused are sealed ahead of the exclusion.
- Exclusion devices fitted to active exit points. Left up a minimum of four nights, with overnight temperatures forecast at 50°F or above.
- Confirmation and final sealing. Once the structure is confirmed empty, remaining openings are closed permanently.
- Guano decontamination where required. With proper protective equipment and HEPA filtration.
A bat exclusion is a multi step process over at least several nights. Anyone promising same day bat removal is describing something that is not legal and would not work.
Get the survey done so the work can start the day the window opens.
Cost
What Bat Exclusion Costs
Bat work prices by the number of entry points and the accessibility of the roost, not by colony size. Guano decontamination is quoted separately because the extent varies enormously.
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Inspection and dusk emergence survey | Quoted on property size |
| Exclusion device installation | By number of active exit points |
| Permanent sealing after exclusion | By number of openings |
| Guano decontamination | Quoted on extent |
| Bat house supply and siting | Optional, modest cost |
The one cost worth avoiding entirely is the illegal shortcut. Sealing bats in during maternity season leaves dead pups inside your wall assembly, which becomes a decontamination and odour job on top of an FWC problem.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you remove the bats this week?
Only if it is between 15 August and 15 April. Florida’s bat maternity season runs 16 April through 14 August and exclusion during that window is illegal without a permit, because flightless pups get trapped inside and die. If it is maternity season, the inspection happens now and the exclusion is scheduled for after 15 August.
Is there a spray or repellent for bats?
No. It is illegal in Florida to kill or harm bats, and the FWC describes exclusion devices as the only legal and effective method of removing roosting bats from a structure. Any product being sold to you as a bat treatment is either ineffective, illegal, or both.
How long do the exclusion devices stay up?
A minimum of four nights, which is a stated FWC requirement. The exclusion also has to be conducted when overnight temperatures are forecast at 50°F or above, otherwise the bats may not leave the roost.
How do you find where they are getting in?
By watching them emerge at dusk. That is the reliable method, and it is why a proper bat job starts with an evening survey rather than a daytime walk around.
Is bat guano dangerous?
In quantity it can harbour Histoplasma fungal spores, so cleanup is a decontamination job with proper respiratory protection rather than something to sweep out. It is done after the colony is excluded, not before.
Will they just move next door?
Possibly, which is why siting a bat house nearby before the exclusion is worth considering. Occupancy is not guaranteed, but the chance improves considerably if it sits in the flight route the bats already use.
Are the operators you refer licensed?
Yes. Florida regulates pest control under Chapter 482, Florida Statutes, administered by FDACS, and rodent work falls under General Household Pest and Rodent Control. Wildlife species are additionally regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Your assigned operator provides their licence number on your written estimate and you can verify it through the FDACS licensee search at fdacs.gov.
Do you use poison?
Not as a default. A poisoned animal does not go outside to die, it dies inside your wall, which turns one job into an odour job. And rodenticide creates secondary poisoning risk for Florida owls, hawks and other raptors, as well as for pets.
Related services: Squirrel Removal, Rodent Exclusion, Attic Cleanup and Sanitising.
Coverage
Bat Exclusion Across Nine Florida Regions
Bat Exclusion is available through the FDACS-licensed operators we refer across 178 Florida communities. The conditions differ by region, so pick yours below and the page will tell you what actually drives rodent problems there and every community we cover inside it.
Not sure which region you are in? Call with your ZIP and we will confirm coverage before anything is scheduled, or see the full Florida service area map.
Read Next
Guides Worth Reading Before You Book
Background reading that will help you judge a quote, understand what the work involves, and know what to expect before anyone comes out.
Get the emergence survey booked and the work scheduled legally.