The Law

What Florida Actually Allows

Squirrels in Florida are regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rather than only by pest control law, and the rules under Florida Administrative Code 68A-9.010 are specific.

Nuisance wildlife may be taken using live traps or snares. All traps must be inspected at least once every 24 hours. Native nuisance wildlife may be released on the landowner’s property where it was captured, only if the release site and the capture site are on one contiguous piece of property. Nonnative wildlife may not be transported or relocated except for the purpose of euthanasia. A permit from an FWC regional office is required to use steel traps to take destructive mammals.

Read the third point again, because it contradicts what most homeowners are told. The promise that a company will humanely relocate your squirrels to the woods somewhere is not one of the options the state provides. Driving an animal across the county and releasing it is not legal, and it is not humane either, since relocated animals frequently do not survive in unfamiliar territory without an established food source or shelter.

We are telling you this knowing it makes for a less comfortable sales conversation than the alternative. You should know what you are actually buying, and you should be wary of anyone whose pitch depends on something the state does not permit.

Species

The Two Squirrels in Florida Attics

• Eastern gray squirrel. Active in daylight, noticeably heavier sounding than a rat, uses predictable entry points, and generally the more straightforward exclusion job. Damage tends to be gnawing at fascia, vents and gable louvres.
• Southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans. The difficult one. Nocturnal, so homeowners assume rats. Colonial, so there are usually many more than you think, sometimes dozens. Classified in Florida as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, which calls for handling consistent with FWC guidance.
• Why misidentification matters. If you have flying squirrels and somebody treats them as rats, the job will be done wrong and it may be done illegally. Trap type, timing and legal handling all change.
• Both are year round denning risks, particularly in older construction with deteriorated rooflines.

The practical tell for flying squirrels is a nocturnal pattern with a heavier, more deliberate sound than rats, occasional gliding thumps onto the roof, and activity concentrated at dusk and just before dawn.

Timing and young

Squirrels have young in the attic, and exclusion carried out while dependent young are present separates them from the mother and leaves them to die inside your structure. That is both inhumane and a serious odour problem. A competent operator checks for young before sealing anything and times the work accordingly, which occasionally means waiting rather than proceeding immediately.

The Process

How Squirrel Work Is Done

1. Species identification. Gray or flying, and whether young are present. This decides everything downstream.
2. Entry point survey. Full roofline, photographed. Gable louvres, fascia gnaw points, vents and roof to wall transitions.
3. One way doors and trapping to FWC rules. Traps checked at least every 24 hours as required.
4. Verification. Zero activity confirmed, and confirmation that no young remain inside.
5. Exclusion. Sealed with metal, because squirrels gnaw more aggressively than rats and will reopen a soft repair.
6. Attic assessment. Squirrel contamination and chewed wiring checked.

Squirrel exclusion generally needs heavier material than rat work. Gray squirrels will chew through repairs that would hold a roof rat indefinitely.

Cost

What Squirrel Removal Costs

These are published national and Florida ranges. Squirrel work is often at the lower end for removal and the higher end for exclusion, because the sealing has to be more robust.

Item	Typical range
Inspection and identification	$75 to $150
Removal and exclusion	$350 to $750
Attic cleanup and insulation replacement if needed	$1,000 to $3,000
Heavier gauge exclusion for gray squirrels	Higher than equivalent rat work
Post removal electrical inspection	$100 to $200

Squirrels chew wiring like rats do, so a post removal electrical check is worth doing. Damaged wire insulation is a fire hazard that may not trip a breaker until it is too late.

Where We Work

Available Across Florida

This service is available through the FDACS licensed operators we refer across all nine of our regions: Southwest Florida, Space Coast, Volusia and Flagler, Treasure Coast, Lake, Sumter, Marion and Citrus, Northeast Florida, Polk and Highlands, Palm Beach County and Greater Orlando.

Related services: Rodent Exclusion, Attic Restoration, Soffit and Eave Sealing.