Yes, it is legal to kill squirrels in Colorado in several situations, but the rules turn on which species you’re dealing with, where you are, and how you do it. Fox squirrels, pine squirrels, and Abert’s squirrels are small game and can be hunted in season with a license. Any tree squirrel damaging your property can be removed year-round without a permit. Most other squirrel species, including chipmunks and several ground squirrels, are either protected or limited to narrow pest-control uses.
Which Squirrels You Can Hunt
Colorado Parks and Wildlife classifies three tree squirrel species as small game: fox squirrels, pine squirrels (also called chickarees), and Abert’s squirrels.1Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 2025 Colorado Small Game and Waterfowl Brochure You can take them during set seasons with established bag limits.
- Fox and pine squirrels: October 1 through the end of February. Daily limit of five per species, possession limit of ten per species.
- Abert’s squirrels: November 15 through January 15. Daily limit of two, possession limit of four.
A valid Colorado small game license is required. Resident licenses run about $36 and nonresident licenses about $99.2Colorado eRegulations. Colorado Hunting Licenses and Fees Hunting without one is a misdemeanor carrying a fine equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for that species, plus 10 license suspension points.3Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-107 – Licensing Violations – Penalties – Rule
Removing Squirrels Damaging Your Property
If tree squirrels are chewing through your attic, destroying siding, or tearing up landscaping, you don’t need a season or a license. Colorado Parks and Wildlife allows landowners, or their agents, to hunt, trap, take, or relocate tree squirrels on private property experiencing damage without a special permit.4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species This is the rule most homeowners actually rely on.
For other wildlife species causing excessive property damage, the process is more formal. The division must consult with the owner, determine the damage qualifies as “excessive,” and then issue a permit specifying how many animals may be killed.5Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Code Title 33 – Parks and Wildlife – Section 33-3-106 Any animal taken under such a permit remains state property, must be field dressed promptly, and must be reported to the division within 48 hours. CPW does not come out to remove nuisance animals; the work falls to you or a hired wildlife control company.
Species That Aren’t Fair Game
All wildlife in Colorado is state property, and taking any species not specifically authorized by statute or regulation is illegal.6Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-1-101 – Legislative Declaration Chipmunks and most ground squirrels are not classified as small game, so they cannot be hunted the way tree squirrels can.
A narrow pest-control exception exists for three ground squirrel species: Richardson’s ground squirrels, rock squirrels, and thirteen-lined ground squirrels. CPW permits the use of poisons and toxicants against these, subject to label instructions and any local restrictions.4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species Species outside both lists, such as the golden-mantled ground squirrel, are protected. Killing one without authorization is a misdemeanor carrying a $50 fine per animal plus license suspension points.7FindLaw. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Illegal Taking of Wildlife Correct identification matters. Mistaking the species isn’t a defense.
Trapping and Relocating Squirrels
Colorado’s constitution bans leghold traps, instant-kill body-gripping traps, poison, and snares for taking wildlife, with an exception for rodents other than beavers and muskrats.8FindLaw. Colorado Constitution Art. XVIII, 12b – Prohibited Methods of Taking Wildlife CPW regulations narrow it further: for nuisance wildlife situations, only live cage or box traps may be used.4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species
Most small game and furbearers caught in live traps must be killed or released on the spot. Tree squirrels are one of the few species you can legally relocate, up to 10 miles from the capture site, if you meet three conditions:4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species
- Contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife before relocating the animal.
- Release in habitat suitable for the species.
- Get permission from whoever owns or manages the release site.
Skip any of those and an otherwise legal relocation becomes a wildlife violation. For species other than tree squirrels, cottontail rabbits, or raccoons, relocation requires a formal CPW permit.
Poison Rules
The constitutional rodent exception means poison isn’t categorically off-limits for squirrels the way it is for coyotes.8FindLaw. Colorado Constitution Art. XVIII, 12b – Prohibited Methods of Taking Wildlife But CPW only authorizes toxicants for Richardson’s ground squirrels, rock squirrels, and thirteen-lined ground squirrels. Fox, pine, and Abert’s squirrels are not on the approved toxicant list.4Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Common Human-Wildlife Conflict Species
Even for approved species, you must follow every instruction on the product label. Federal EPA rules govern which active ingredients can be used and where, with added restrictions near endangered species habitats.9US EPA. EPA Releases Rodenticide Strategy, Including Final Biological Evaluation on the Effects of 11 Rodenticides on Endangered Species and Associated Mitigation Applying a rodenticide to a species not listed on its label, or in a way that contradicts the directions, violates state and federal law regardless of whether the target animal is otherwise legal to kill.
Local Firearm and Weapon Restrictions
State law allowing you to take a squirrel doesn’t override local rules about how you do it. Most Colorado cities and towns prohibit discharging firearms within residential areas, and many extend that ban to pellet guns, air rifles, and bows. Even a CPW property-damage permit cannot be used in violation of local firearm restrictions.5Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Code Title 33 – Parks and Wildlife – Section 33-3-106 A municipal weapons violation brings its own summons and fines, separate from any wildlife charge.
This is where most plans fall apart. You identify a legal target, you have a legitimate reason, and then you catch a ticket for firing a pellet gun inside city limits. Check your city or county ordinances before acting. Within a municipality that restricts firearms, live trapping followed by relocation, or on-site dispatch by an approved method, is usually the only practical option.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Consequences scale with the species and the offense:
- Hunting small game without a license: misdemeanor, fine equal to twice the cost of the most expensive license for that species, plus 10 license suspension points.3Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-6-107 – Licensing Violations – Penalties – Rule
- Illegally taking nongame wildlife, which covers most squirrel species outside the small game and approved pest lists: misdemeanor, $50 fine per animal plus suspension points.7FindLaw. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Illegal Taking of Wildlife
- Killing an endangered or threatened species: fine between $2,000 and $100,000, up to one year in county jail, and 20 suspension points. The commission can revoke hunting privileges for one year to life.7FindLaw. Colorado Code 33-6-109 – Illegal Taking of Wildlife
Suspension points accumulate across offenses. Once you reach the threshold, you lose hunting and fishing privileges statewide, and getting them back can take years. A $50 fine for one ground squirrel is manageable on its own; the points are what follow you.