How do we get squirrels or raccoons out of our HOA's attics?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 28, 2026

How an HOA board gets squirrels and raccoons out of condo and townhome attics: baby season timing, one-way doors, TX, FL and CO trapping rules, and cleanup.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Get them out with exclusion. A wildlife control company finds every opening on the building, seals all of them except the one the animals use, puts a one-way door on that one, and closes it for good once the attic is empty. Poison is not an option for squirrels, since no toxic bait is labeled for them, and trapping an animal and driving it across town is limited in Texas, Florida and Colorado and can be illegal. The hard part is timing. Squirrels and raccoons move into attics to raise young. Seal a mother out while her babies are inside and you get dead animals in the insulation, a smell that reaches the units below, and a second bill to cut open the ceiling. So the board's job is to approve the work early, insist on a check for young before anything gets sealed, and keep owners from doing it themselves. Rules vary by state, by city and by your governing documents. This guide is general education, not legal advice.

Settle whose attic it is

Open the declaration and the maintenance chart before calling anyone. In a Florida condominium, Florida Statutes 718.113(1) makes maintenance of the common elements the association's job, except for limited common elements the declaration assigns to owners. Roofs, soffits, fascia and shared attic space are common elements in most condo declarations, so the openings are the association's to fix even when the noise is over one unit. Townhome and single-family communities split it many ways. If the association maintains roofs and exteriors, it owns the entry points even if the owner owns the attic. If owners maintain their own roofs, the board's role shrinks to clubhouses, pool houses and other common buildings, plus enforcing the exterior maintenance standard when a neighbor's open soffit keeps feeding animals into the attached unit next door. Write the answer down. When three owners in one building call in the same week, you want to tell them in one email who is fixing what. Then call the insurance agent about chewed wiring or soiled insulation before assuming the master policy pays.

Figure out what is up there

Squirrels and raccoons call for different contracts, and roof rats are a third problem entirely. Texas A&M AgriLife's urban entomology program notes that a squirrel needs only a half-inch gap to get into an attic, that squirrels chew holes in soffits and fascia and chew wiring inside, and that a roof rat can fit through a gap of about the same size. Rats belong in the pest control contract; our guide on setting up an HOA termite and pest control contract covers that. Ask the contractor for a roofline inspection of every building in the complaint area, not only the unit that called. The report should list each opening with a photo, the building and side, its size, and whether it shows fresh chewing, grease marks or droppings. A pile of droppings in one spot in the attic usually means a raccoon latrine, which changes the cleanup plan.

Work around baby season

Raccoons. Connecticut's wildlife agency puts raccoon birthing from late March through May, with weaning and rearing of the young in June and July. The young are old enough to leave the den at about 8 weeks, and the agency says a denning female can be tolerated until then. Squirrels. Penn State Extension says gray squirrels breed in mid-December or early January and again in June, usually have two litters of one to eight young, and wean them at about two months. So a squirrel nest with young in it can turn up from late winter through late summer. What that means for the schedule: February through September. No one-way door goes on until the contractor has checked for young and put the result in writing. If young are present, the choices are to wait, or to make the attic unpleasant so the mother moves them herself. Connecticut's agency suggests light and a radio playing in the attic, along with rags soaked in vinegar or ammonia, and sealing only after confirming the raccoons are gone. October through January. This is the best window to seal every building at once, because last season's young have moved out and the next squirrel litters have not arrived. Approve the property-wide job at the summer or early fall meeting so the contractor can schedule it.

Trapping and relocation rules in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Texas. Raccoons are fur-bearing animals under Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 71.001, and 71.004(a) lets a landowner or the landowner's agent take one that is causing damage on that land. Texas Parks and Wildlife says no hunting or trapping license is needed for that. Moving one is another matter. Relocation needs authorization from the department, consent from the owner of the release site, and monthly reports, and the department also says transporting live raccoons is a Class C misdemeanor under the state's rabies quarantine. Squirrels are different again: gray, fox and red squirrels are game animals under Parks and Wildlife Code 63.001, and the nuisance furbearer allowance does not cover them. If a Texas vendor proposes trapping squirrels, ask how it complies with TPWD rules. A one-way door avoids the question. Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says property owners, and trappers they authorize, do not need FWC permission to take most nuisance wildlife on private property. Traps must be checked at least every 24 hours, and a captured animal must be released legally or humanely euthanized within 24 hours. Release off the property is allowed only on at least 40 contiguous acres in the same county, with the written permission of that landowner. A county rabies alert or quarantine can block moving live animals at all. FWC proposed changes to its trapping rules in 2026, so ask the trapper to confirm the rules it follows are current. Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife lets a landowner or agent trap or relocate raccoons and tree squirrels causing damage on private property without a permit. Raccoons must be released within 2 miles of capture and squirrels within 10 miles, CPW must be notified in advance, the site must be suitable habitat, and the release-site owner or agency must agree. Live traps must be checked daily, and cities can be stricter.

What the contract should say

Get at least two bids for the same written scope. A good scope includes: A roofline inspection of each building with the photo list described above. Sealing of every opening that is not the active entry, using heavy half-inch wire mesh or sheet metal, the materials Penn State Extension recommends, and chimney caps where raccoons are the problem. A one-way door on each active entry, a written check for young before it goes on, follow-up visits, and a final seal once activity stops. Tree trimming so limbs sit 6 to 8 feet from roofs, another Penn State recommendation. This may belong in the landscape contract instead. No poison. Texas A&M notes that no toxic baits are labeled for squirrels. A warranty on sealed openings, a price for attic cleanup listed on its own line, and a certificate of insurance naming the association. A motion you can adapt: 'Move to hire [company] to inspect and seal squirrel and raccoon entry points on [buildings], install one-way doors on active entries after a written check for young, and complete final sealing by [date], for [amount], with attic cleanup at [unit price] as approved by the president.' Our guide on getting bats out of an HOA clubhouse covers the same exclusion method for a protected species with stricter timing.

Clean up raccoon latrines carefully

Raccoons pass roundworm eggs in their droppings. The CDC says the eggs take 2 to 4 weeks in the environment to become infectious, and that people get infected by swallowing them. Its advice is to remove raccoon feces promptly, before the eggs mature, and to burn, bury or send them to a landfill without contaminating hands or clothes. Hard surfaces such as decks and patios can be treated with boiling water or a propane flame gun, with care. In an attic, that means paying the wildlife company or a remediation contractor to bag the droppings and soiled insulation and replace the insulation. Do not send a volunteer director up with a shop vacuum. Keep residents away from any raccoon that seems sick or unafraid of people and call local animal control.

Owner notice you can adapt

'Squirrels and raccoons have been getting into attics in [buildings]. The association has hired [company] to inspect the roofs, seal entry points and install one-way exits so the animals leave and cannot return. Please do not set traps, seal holes yourself, or use poison; trapped or sealed-in animals can die inside the walls, and state law limits trapping and relocation. If you hear scratching or see an opening along the roof, report the building and location to [email or phone]. If you see a raccoon acting sick or unafraid, keep away and call [animal control number].'

Mistakes boards make

Sealing the hole the animal used without checking for young. That is how a ceiling gets cut open in June. Fixing one unit's opening. The animals move to the next soffit down the row. Inspect and seal the whole building. Letting an owner trap and release. In Texas that can mean moving a live raccoon illegally, and in Colorado or Florida it means rules on distance, acreage and permission the owner probably has not read. Leaving overhanging limbs. Squirrels will come back across the same branch. No records. Keep the inspection photos, the young-check notes and the warranty with the building files so the next board knows which openings were sealed and when.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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