Rat and mouse article

Rats and Mice Through the Fort Lauderdale Year

Updated November 4, 2026

There's no rodent off-season in Broward. Roof rats breed all year, peak in spring and fall, and storms open new ways into houses. Here's what each part of the year brings.

Fort Lauderdale doesn't get a winter that slows rodents down. UF/IFAS says roof rats in Florida breed year-round, with peaks in spring and fall. What changes through the year is food, water and the condition of your roof. Fruit ripens, summer rains flood burrows, and hurricane season, which runs June 1 through November 30, opens new gaps in roofs.

Here's what each stretch of the year tends to bring, and what to do about it.

Spring: breeding peak and fruit set

Spring is one of the two breeding peaks UF/IFAS describes for roof rats in Florida. Young rats leave the nest and look for places of their own, and an open eave or a loose soffit screen is a good place. Fruit trees set fruit, and by late spring the first mangoes and avocados are filling out. This is a good time to have the roofline checked and sealed before summer storms, and to get trees trimmed back from the roof. See rodent exclusion.

Summer: rain, heat and mango season

Afternoon storms soak the ground and flood burrows along canals and seawalls, which pushes ground rats toward garages, sheds and slab edges. Attic temperatures climb, and droppings and urine smell stronger. Mangoes ripen and drop, and UF/IFAS says hollowed-out fruit is the most common evidence of roof rats. Pick fruit as it ripens and rake up drops every day or two. If rats are digging along the seawall or slab after heavy rain, rat burrow treatment handles that.

Hurricane season: storm damage

Storms crack tiles, tear soffit screens, knock vent covers loose and drop limbs on roofs. Each of those is a new way in, and roof rats find them fast. After a storm, walk the outside of the house before the rats do.

• Cracked, slipped or missing tiles at the eave and ridge
• Torn or pushed-in soffit screens
• Loose gable vent or roof vent covers
• Limbs or fronds now resting on the roof or pool cage
• Gaps where a garage door was damaged or forced
• Debris piles in the yard that could shelter rats

After flooding: health risks

The CDC says leptospirosis risk is higher after hurricanes, heavy rain and flooding, because the bacteria spread through the urine of infected animals, including rats, into water and soil. Wear gloves and boots for cleanup, cover cuts with waterproof bandages, and don't let kids play in floodwater. If you find droppings in a flooded garage or shed, clean them up with the CDC's wet method. Rodent diseases in Florida has more.

Fall: the second breeding peak

Fall is the other breeding peak UF/IFAS describes. Storm damage from late summer may still be unrepaired, and young rats are looking for homes. If you heard rats in spring and sealed the house, this is when you find out whether the seal held. Listen at night and check the attic for fresh droppings. Why rats come back covers the usual reasons a seal fails.

Winter: snowbirds and closed houses

The cooler, drier months bring visitors back to condos and second homes that sat closed all summer. A house that was empty for months may have rats or mice that moved in quietly. Before you close a home for the summer, clear food out, close the garage, trim trees off the roof and ask someone to check for droppings while you're gone. When you come back, check the attic hatch, the garage shelves and under the sinks first.

A year-round routine

Every season, keep these going:

• Bag garbage and keep cart lids closed
• Feed pets indoors
• Store seed and pet food in metal cans
• Keep limbs and fronds off the roof
• Walk the roofline after big storms

Storm debris and bulk pickup

After a big storm, yards fill with branches, fronds and damaged furniture. Piles like that are rat shelter right next to the house. Fort Lauderdale collects bulk trash and tree trimmings once a month, up to 10 cubic yards, and asks that piles sit at least four feet from carts, mailboxes, trees and power lines without blocking storm drains. The city may change schedules after major storms, so check with it before stacking debris for weeks. Fort Lauderdale trash and property rules covers the regular rules.

Getting ready before the storm

Storm prep and rodent prep overlap. When you trim trees before hurricane season, take every limb and frond back from the roof, which also removes rat bridges. When you bring in patio furniture, check cushions and storage boxes for droppings. If you store water and food for a storm, keep it in sealed bins off the garage floor. A pantry full of storm supplies in torn bags is a mouse buffet if the power is out for days and the house sits closed up.

Related services: Roof Rat Control, Rodent Exclusion & Sealing, Emergency Rodent Removal