Spring Weed Control & Noxious Weed Rules by City & State (2026)
Height Limits, Abatement Notices & Who Enforces Them
Find the rules for your area:
Find your city or county's weed ordinance: the height at which grass and weeds become a violation, how much notice you get before the city cuts them and bills you, which species your state lists as noxious, and who actually enforces it.
The table below breaks down the rules across 50 states and 666 cities and counties. Every entry is based on the actual municipal code for that location, not a guess or a generic template. Click any location to see the full ordinance details, including fines, exceptions, and local FAQs.
Two different laws get called "the weed ordinance," and they work differently. The local one is about height and neglect: Dallas cites weeds over 12 inches under §§ 18-13 and 18-14, Phoenix draws the line at 6 inches (Sec. 39-7(D)), and Denver gives ten days from a notice of violation before the city abates under DRMC § 57-43. The state one is about species: Wisconsin's § 66.0407 orders every landowner to destroy Canada thistle, leafy spurge and field bindweed wherever they grow, and Illinois, Pennsylvania, Montana and Wyoming impose the same statewide duty, enforced through county weed commissioners and districts or, in Pennsylvania, the Department of Agriculture.
That distinction answers a question readers send us: is a fast-growing volunteer, a Siberian elm seedling in a window well, tree-of-heaven along a fence, a noxious weed? Only if your state's list names the species. Whether it is a violation is a different test, and usually an easier one: once it passes the local height limit or counts as uncultivated growth, the species no longer matters. Tree-of-heaven is the exception with rules of its own, see Tree-of-Heaven Removal, and state-listed species live under Prohibited & Invasive Species.
Enforcement follows one script almost everywhere: a written notice with a deadline, ten days in Denver, 30 in Phoenix, two to twenty in Marion County, Oregon, then the city or county cuts it, bills the owner, and files a lien or a tax assessment if the bill goes unpaid. Fines stack on top: Phoenix's civil sanctions run $50 to $2,500, and Marion County's reach $1,000 plus the cost lien. Vacant lots and the strip between sidewalk and curb are the usual blind spots, Phoenix (Sec. 31-10) and Texarkana both put the abutting right-of-way on the owner.
Related Rules
The nuisance-abatement side: who cuts it, who pays, and the lien.
Grass Height LimitsThe inch-by-inch trigger, city by city.
Prohibited & Invasive SpeciesState noxious-weed lists and banned plants.
Tree-of-Heaven RemovalAilanthus mandates tied to spotted lanternfly.
Brush ClearanceDry-vegetation deadlines in wildfire zones.
Front Yard GardensWhen a wildflower meadow is landscaping, not a violation.
Rules by State
Each state is colored by the most common local rule. Click a state to see the cities and counties we cover there.
| State | Locations | Strict | Moderate | Permissive | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 171 | 1 | 169 | 1 | Some Restrictions |
| Florida | 78 | 1 | 76 | 1 | Some Restrictions |
| Texas | 65 | - | 58 | 7 | Some Restrictions |
| Illinois | 35 | - | 34 | 1 | Some Restrictions |
| Georgia | 30 | 1 | 29 | - | Some Restrictions |
| North Carolina | 29 | 1 | 28 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Virginia | 28 | - | 28 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Washington | 27 | 4 | 23 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Colorado | 26 | - | 26 | - | Some Restrictions |
| New York | 26 | - | 26 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Ohio | 24 | 5 | 19 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Wisconsin | 24 | - | 24 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Arizona | 23 | 1 | 22 | - | Some Restrictions |
| New Jersey | 23 | - | 23 | - | Some Restrictions |
| South Carolina | 19 | - | 19 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Michigan | 17 | - | 17 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Missouri | 16 | - | 16 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Louisiana | 15 | 1 | 14 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | 2 | 12 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Oregon | 13 | - | 13 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Indiana | 12 | 1 | 11 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Utah | 12 | 1 | 11 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Maryland | 11 | 2 | 9 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Minnesota | 11 | 2 | 9 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Alabama | 10 | 1 | 9 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Massachusetts | 10 | - | 10 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Tennessee | 10 | 1 | 9 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Idaho | 9 | 1 | 8 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Connecticut | 8 | - | 8 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Iowa | 8 | - | 7 | 1 | Some Restrictions |
| Kansas | 8 | 2 | 6 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Nevada | 8 | - | 8 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Arkansas | 7 | - | 7 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Oklahoma | 7 | - | 7 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Kentucky | 5 | - | 5 | - | Some Restrictions |
| New Mexico | 5 | 1 | 4 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Delaware | 4 | - | 4 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Mississippi | 4 | - | 4 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Nebraska | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Hawaii | 3 | - | 3 | - | Some Restrictions |
| North Dakota | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Rhode Island | 3 | - | 3 | - | Some Restrictions |
| South Dakota | 3 | - | 3 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Montana | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | Heavy Restrictions |
| West Virginia | 2 | - | 2 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Wyoming | 2 | - | 2 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Alaska | 1 | - | 1 | - | Some Restrictions |
| District of Columbia | 1 | - | 1 | - | Some Restrictions |
| Maine | 1 | - | 1 | - | Some Restrictions |
| New Hampshire | 1 | - | 1 | - | Some Restrictions |
How Cities Compare
These rankings are based on verified municipal code data, not opinion. A "strict" rating means the city has heavy restrictions, high fines, or outright bans. "Permissive" means few or no local restrictions beyond state law.
Most Restrictive
- 1Albuquerque, NMListed weeds over 4 inches prohibited
Under Albuquerque's Weed, Litter and Snow Removal Ordinance (Sec. 9-8-1 et seq.), it is unlawful to permit listed nuisance weeds to grow to a height or width of more than 4 inches. The owner must keep the property clear, including the area between the property line and the middle of the adjacent alley.
- 2Fort Lauderdale, FL6 inches (overgrowth = lawn/grass/weeds over 6 in.)
Fort Lauderdale Code Section 18-3 defines 'overgrowth' as lawn, grass or weeds in excess of six (6) inches in height, and Section 18-12 declares any overgrowth of lawn, grass, weeds or foliage on a property a public nuisance the owner must abate.
- 3Benton County, WA
Benton County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the Benton County Noxious Weed Control Board, owners must eradicate Class A weeds and control listed Class B and C species. This is a real, enforceable duty backed by abatement and liens.
- 4Allentown, PA10 inches
Allentown defines weeds broadly as rank vegetable growth (grass, ragweed, dandelion, brush, and similar vegetation) that emits unpleasant or noxious odors or pollen, conceals filthy deposits, or harbors mosquitoes, insects, or vermin. Under Chapter 393 (Neighborhood Improvement), property owners may not allow weeds to exceed 10 inches in height and have an affirmative duty to cut them; the City may abate after one annual notice.
- 5Dublin, OH8 inches
Dublin declares noxious weeds and vegetation over 8 inches a public nuisance under Code Chapter 660. Property owners must cut and remove noxious weeds such as Canada thistle, poison hemlock, and giant hogweed.
- 6Lakewood, OH
Lakewood Section 1775.01 lists 31 noxious weeds (Canada thistle, giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, poison hemlock and more) that owners must cut or destroy within forty-eight hours of notice.
- 7Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code Section PM-302.4 bars weeds or plant growth over 10 inches and prohibits all noxious weeds. After a Notice of Violation, an owner who fails to cut and destroy the weeds is subject to prosecution, and the City may enter the property, remove the weeds, and charge the cost to the owner.
- 8Parma, OH8 inches
Parma Codified Ordinances require residential property owners to keep grass and weeds cut below 8 inches. Exceeding this limit creates a public nuisance subject to city abatement. The Building Department and Division of Streets enforce through complaint-driven inspection.
- 9Whatcom County, WA
Whatcom County makes noxious-weed control mandatory. Under state law and the county Noxious Weed Control Board, owners must eradicate Class A weeds and control listed Class B and C species. This is a real, enforceable duty backed by abatement and liens.
- 10Redwood City, CA
Redwood City makes it unlawful for an owner or occupant of property fronting an improved street with cement sidewalks or curbs to allow grass, weeds, dirt, rubbish, or other obstructions to accumulate or grow in the walk area from curb to property line.
Fewest Restrictions
- 1Travis County, TX
Travis County has no county-wide weed ordinance for unincorporated areas. Texas counties lack general nuisance abatement authority except under HSC 342 (unsanitary conditions) and burn ban contexts. Austin Code 10-5 addresses weeds with 12-inch height limit. HOAs and MUDs enforce locally.
- 2Linn County, IA
Linn County stripped the weeds section from the property maintenance code it adopted, so unincorporated parts of the county have no general grass or weed height limit outside licensed mobile home parks.
- 3Marion County, FLNone (unincorporated)
Marion County has no countywide numeric grass-height ordinance for unincorporated property. Overgrown lots are addressed mainly through Florida's sanitary-nuisance law (Fla. Stat. 386.01) and, in many subdivisions, through Municipal Service Taxing/Benefit Units (MSTUs/MSBUs) that fund roadside and lot mowing.
- 4Denton County, TX
Denton County has no weed abatement ordinance. Texas counties lack property maintenance authority. TDA manages noxious weeds under TX Ag Code Chapter 71.
- 5Tarrant County, TX
Tarrant County has no weed ordinance for unincorporated areas. Texas HSC Chapter 342 lets county health act only when vegetation creates a public health nuisance like harboring rodents or mosquitoes.
- 6Solano County, CA
Unincorporated Solano County does not have a separate numbered weed-abatement chapter; overgrown, dead, or hazardous vegetation is abated as a public nuisance under Solano County Code Chapter 10. In the State Responsibility Area, California Public Resources Code Section 4291 requires 100 feet of defensible space, and local fire districts inspect for hazardous vegetation. The Agricultural Commissioner separately controls noxious and invasive weeds.
- 7Williamson County, TX
Williamson County has no lawn grass-height ordinance and cannot zone. In the unincorporated area, uncultivated growth over 36 inches becomes an abatable weeds nuisance under state law; inside subdivisions, HOA covenants set mowing standards.
- 8Guadalupe County, TX
Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Guadalupe County has no grass-height rule, and tall grass there generally isn't a code violation. Cities like Seguin, Schertz, and Cibolo cap weeds near 12 inches and abate them.
- 9Bexar County, TX
San Antonio enforces a 12-inch weed and rank-growth standard on improved lots with abatement and liens. Unincorporated Bexar County has no general weed ordinance, leaving enforcement to HOAs and plat restrictions.
- 10Montgomery County, TX
Montgomery County has no weed control or vegetation maintenance ordinance for unincorporated areas. No noxious weed eradication requirement exists at the county level beyond state agricultural law. HOA deed restrictions may impose weed and vegetation standards.
All 666 Locations
Every city and county below has verified ordinance data for this topic. Click any location for the full breakdown including fines, exceptions, and local FAQs.
Frequently Asked Questions
These questions come from the most common things people ask about this topic across different cities.