Asheville, NC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Sec. 4-210(3)(f), part of the Housing Code's minimum standards, makes every owner of a dwelling or a boarding house responsible for the extermination of any insects, rodents, or other pests found within the dwelling or on the premises. If an owner does not provide extermination and the code enforcement officer finds evidence of an insect, rodent, or other pest infestation, the officer can order extermination directly. That treatment must be carried out by a licensed exterminator, and the owner must then supply the code enforcement officer with a statement of action from that licensed exterminator confirming the work was done.

The same subsection caps how often an owner can be compelled to treat: monthly extermination is the maximum service an owner can be required to provide, so the officer cannot order more frequent treatment even for a recurring problem. Extermination sits alongside the broader Sec. 4-210(3)(e) sanitation duty, which requires every owner to keep the dwelling and its outbuildings clean, safe, and sanitary. Because pest infestation is a minimum-standards item rather than a Sec. 4-209 life-safety condition, it is enforced through the regular Housing Code complaint and inspection process under Sec. 4-217 rather than as a priority case, unless the infestation rises to a level that threatens health or safety more broadly.