This is a call Florida roofers get all the time: something is getting into my soffit.

Sometimes it is a squirrel. Sometimes it is a roof rat. Sometimes it is bats. And sometimes the homeowner has no idea what it is until we start looking.

The important part is this: do not just seal the hole. What made the opening, what is living behind it, and whether anything is still inside all matter.

Roof rats and squirrels

Florida roofs make good shelter.

Roof rats are excellent climbers and commonly use attics, roof spaces, trees and vegetation around homes. Once inside, they can damage insulation, wood and even electrical wiring.

And they don’t need a very big entrance. A rat can squeeze through an opening around ½ inch. A mouse can use an opening around ¼ inch.

On a roof, that can mean something as small as:

• a separated soffit joint
• damaged fascia
• a gap near a roof return
• an opening around a pipe or penetration
• deteriorated screening
• a construction gap at the roof edge

Squirrels can make the challenge worse, because they may chew damaged or vulnerable areas until the opening becomes large enough to use.

And once an animal has found a protected route into a home, simply filling the visible hole with foam isn’t much of a repair.

For rodent-resistant repairs, UF/IFAS recommends materials such as 26-gauge-or-heavier sheet metal, or 19-gauge-or-heavier hardware cloth with openings no larger than ¼ inch.

Expanding foam may fill a gap. It does not make the gap rodent-proof.

University of Florida IFAS Extension, ENY-224, Rat and Mouse Control.

Get them out before you close them out

This is where homeowners can accidentally turn a small problem into a much bigger one.

If an animal is living inside the attic or soffit and someone seals its exit, you haven’t solved the problem. You’ve trapped it inside the house.

That can mean animals trying to create another exit, getting farther into the structure, dying inside inaccessible spaces, or causing additional damage.

Identify what is using the opening. Get it out properly. Then repair the entry point.

That order matters.

Bats are different, and Florida law matters

If the animals turn out to be bats, the rules change.

Florida’s bat maternity season runs from April 16 through August 14. During that period Florida generally prohibits excluding bats from their roost, because young bats may still be unable to fly. Blocking the adults from returning can leave pups trapped inside the structure.

Outside maternity season, August 15 through April 15, bats can be removed through a proper exclusion process.

That doesn’t mean catching them. A bat exclusion uses a one-way device that allows bats to leave the structure but prevents them from getting back inside. Florida FWC guidance calls for exclusion devices to remain in place for at least four nights, with overnight temperatures forecast to reach at least 50°F.

Lights, chemicals, poison and capturing bats for relocation are not substitutes for proper exclusion.

So what happens if you find bats during maternity season?

Don’t seal an active bat entrance.

The first job is determining exactly where the bats are roosting and which openings they are actually using. Other roof or soffit defects may still need attention, but repairs have to be planned so they do not illegally block bats from their roost.

That is why identifying the animal before anyone closes the opening matters so much. A damaged soffit may look like a simple punch-list item. If there is a bat colony behind it, it isn’t.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Bats in Buildings. Bats are protected in Florida under Florida Administrative Code rules 68A-4.001 and 68A-9.010.

And yes, we find lizards too

Geckos and anoles are everywhere in Brevard County. Usually, they are not the roofing problem.

They aren’t chewing through fascia to build themselves a front door. If lizards are routinely getting behind a soffit or into part of the roof assembly, the more useful question is: how are they getting in?

Find the opening. Then find out why the opening exists.

Because in Florida, a little gap rarely stays just a little gap forever.

One common reason a roof edge opens up in the first place: gutters →

Not sure whether your roof needs a repair or a replacement?

Most animal-entry problems start as repair issues, not reasons to replace an entire roof. But it can also expose other conditions that have been developing for years.

If you’re wondering where your shingle roof stands overall, use our Roof Score.

SCORE YOUR ROOF

or schedule a free roof visit →

Eight factors. 100 points. About two minutes. It is designed for asphalt shingle roofs.