Brazilian Pepper and Underbrush Clearing in Lehigh Acres
Brazilian pepper and underbrush clearing on a Lehigh Acres lot means dealing with a plant both the county and the state treat as invasive. Brazilian pepper is on Lee County's prohibited invasive plant list and on Florida's noxious weed list, and it grows alongside the saw palmetto, gallberry and cabbage palm found under slash pine in Southwest Florida flatwoods. This guide covers what the county and state rules say, whether a vacant-lot owner has to remove it, ways to clear it, and what to ask about regrowth and cost.
What Lee County's rules say
Lee County's invasive exotic plants page names melaleuca, Australian pine (Casuarina) and Brazilian pepper as prohibited, and traces the history:
- Ordinance 82-42 banned them from required landscaping.
- Ordinance 90-06 required them to be removed from open space in developments approved after March 5, 1990.
- Land Development Code §10-420(h) prohibits planting listed highly invasive exotics and requires their removal from the development area.
The county's prohibited invasive plant guide (last updated June 2026) lists 28 species that "may not be planted and must be removed from the development area," and warns that "Prohibited invasive exotic vegetation on a developed property may result in Code Enforcement action." Lee County Code Enforcement lists exotic vegetation removal among the environmental items it looks into.
Does a vacant-lot owner have to remove it?
The county's guides tie removal to development areas and developed properties. They don't say outright whether the owner of an existing vacant single-family lot must take Brazilian pepper out. If that matters to you, ask DCD Environmental Sciences at 239-533-8585 or Code Enforcement at 239-533-8895, and ask how the rule is applied when a single-family building permit comes in.
Florida's noxious weed list
The state Department of Agriculture's Noxious Weed List (Rule 5B-57.007, last amended effective September 28, 2020) includes several plants a Lehigh owner may run into:
| Plant | Name on the list |
|---|---|
| Brazilian pepper | Schinus terebinthifolius, "Brazilian pepper-tree" |
| Melaleuca | Melaleuca quinquenervia |
| Australian pine | Casuarina spp. |
| Old World climbing fern | Lygodium microphyllum |
| Cogongrass | Imperata cylindrica |
The county guide adds others, including air potato and earleaf acacia.
What else is growing under the pines
The official NRCS descriptions of two flatwoods soils mapped in Lee County list their typical vegetation. Hallandale: "scattered cypress, saw palmettos, and slash pine." Boca: "gallberry, sawpalmetto, cabbage palmettos, slash pine." Where Brazilian pepper has moved in too, a lot ends up with native pines worth keeping above and a mix of native shrubs and invasive pepper below, and the clearing plan has to tell them apart.
Ways to clear it
- Forestry mulching. One machine shreds pepper, palmetto and brush in place and leaves the pines. Roots stay in the ground. See forestry mulching.
- Cutting and grubbing. Shrubs are cut and a machine pulls the root crowns. More disturbance, but it's the way to go where the house, driveway or septic area will be.
- Hand crews. Saws and trimmers for tight spots, along fences, near a neighbor's yard or close to a burrow where heavy equipment can't go.
- A mix. A building lot can be grubbed under the pad, mulched along the sides and back, and hand-cut along the lines.
Regrowth and follow-up
Clearing invasive brush once isn't always the end of it. Before you hire anyone, ask what the contractor expects to come back, how they handle cut stumps, whether a follow-up visit is included, and what it costs if it isn't. Get the answer in the written quote.
Debris and disposal
Lee County's curbside yard waste is one pickup a week, with bundles no heavier than 50 pounds and no longer than 6 feet. A lot's worth of pepper and palmetto is far beyond that; the county says to call your hauler for an estimate on large jobs. Mulching in place avoids hauling. Burning takes Florida Forest Service authorization and isn't allowed during a county burn ban; see burning clearing debris.
Check for burrows first
Dense pepper and palmetto are exactly where a burrow is easy to miss. Before a machine goes in, walk the lot for gopher tortoise burrows (25-foot buffer) and burrowing owl burrows (10 or 33 feet depending on the season). See gopher tortoises and burrowing owls.
What it costs
No published price list covers Brazilian pepper removal in Lehigh. National forestry mulching guides give $400 to $1,500 an acre (Angi and HomeAdvisor), and HomeAdvisor's hourly figures run from $125 to $200 for underbrush and small trees up to $200 to $400 for heavy, dense brush.
National figures, not local prices. The contractor's written quote after seeing the lot is what counts. More on cost.
Who this page is not for
If the property is inside Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Sanibel, Estero or Fort Myers Beach, that city handles its own code cases. And if you need a specific herbicide program for a large natural area, that's a different kind of job from clearing a lot.
Brazilian pepper questions
Is it illegal to have Brazilian pepper on my lot?
Lee County prohibits planting it and requires removal from development areas, and it can lead to Code Enforcement action on a developed property. For a vacant lot, ask the county how the rule applies.
Do I need a permit to remove it?
On a single-family lot under 5 acres on the mainland, Lee County's vegetation removal permit doesn't list the job. Burrow buffers and canal rules still apply.
Can the contractor leave the pines?
Yes. Flag the trees you want kept and confirm them with the operator before work starts.
Can I burn the pepper brush?
Only with Florida Forest Service authorization, outside any Lee County burn ban, and with the state's setbacks, which are hard to meet on a lot between houses.
Getting help
Call or send the form with the lot's location and how thick the pepper is. Your request goes to one independent local contractor, who can walk it and give you a written price. The referral is free.
Got a lot in Lehigh Acres that needs clearing?
Call or send the short form. Your request goes to one independent local contractor who can walk the lot and put a price in writing. There's no charge for the referral.