Florida Bat Law and Maternity Season: What Is Actually Allowed

The dates that matter

Florida bat maternity season runs from April 16 through August 14. April 15 is the last day a building can be cleared of bats without a permit, and the unpermitted window reopens on August 15. During the maternity period exclusion is not permitted without appropriate authorization, because the pups cannot yet fly and would be sealed inside.

Bats are protected in Florida year round. It is unlawful to kill or harm them, so the legal method is exclusion, which lets the colony leave and prevents it returning.

What can still happen in the closed season

Inspection is unaffected. The entry points can be identified, the roost located and the work quoted and scheduled during the closed period. What cannot happen is fitting exclusion devices or sealing an occupied entry point.

There is also a weather condition on the work itself. Guidance calls for exclusion devices to remain in place for at least four nights with forecast overnight lows of at least fifty degrees, so that the whole colony has a fair opportunity to leave.

Why sealing early backfires

The most damaging thing a homeowner can do is close the gap themselves during the maternity period. It traps flightless pups and often the adults with them, which is unlawful, and it converts a bat problem into a dead animal problem inside a wall or ceiling cavity.