Aiken County, SC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Aiken County Code Section 15-22 lists several conditions tied directly to rodents and vermin as specific nuisances in unincorporated residential areas. Subsection (3) bars letting junk, disabled cars and trucks, trash, waste, old lumber, or used tires accumulate on a residential property as a possible harborage for rats, snakes, and other vermin. Subsection (5) targets compost piles kept of such a nature as to spread or harbor a disease, emit unpleasant odors or harmful gas, or attract rodents, vermin or other disease-carrying pests, while carving out an express exception: earthworms alone in a compost pile are not a nuisance.

Subsection (6) bars keeping deleterious septic material on a property unless it's held in containers that deny access to humans, flies, insects, rodents, vermin, and animals. Subsection (7) adds livestock, chickens, or other domestic animals kept in a residential area in a way that spreads disease or attracts rodents and vermin. Junk is defined broadly at Section 15-23 to include old barrels, dismantled equipment, scrap metal, rags, tires, and disabled vehicle parts. Enforcement mirrors every other Article III nuisance: county staff investigates a complaint from five or more nearby residents under Section 15-25, issues one written warning giving thirty calendar days to abate under Section 15-26, and can escalate to a magistrate's court summons under Section 15-27 if the condition isn't corrected, or to county abatement with a property lien under Section 15-28 if a court orders it.