Bessemer, AL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 18, Article X, Division 3, Subdivision II covers hazards and unsanitary conditions on covered properties. Sec. 18-262(a) limits the whole article, including its infestation rules, to every commercial, business or industrial establishment and the premises where it operates, whether the building was built, altered or licensed before or after the article's enactment; the definitions in Sec. 18-261 explain that infestation means insects, rodents, vermin or other pests present on the premises to a degree that constitutes a health hazard, and extermination means eliminating their harborage and food sources by poisoning, spraying, fumigating or trapping.

Sec. 18-352 declares any source of infestation by insects, pests or rodents a danger to persons in the vicinity, and Sec. 18-417 puts the duty to eliminate infestation squarely on the operator in control of the premises. Enforcement follows the Division 2 administrative procedure: Sec. 18-295 lets the public officer inspect covered premises during normal business hours, or at other times if there is reason to believe an immediate health or safety threat exists, and Sec. 18-297 requires written notice specifying the violation and giving the person responsible up to 30 days to correct it, extendable by another 30 days, or 90 days for major capital work, under Sec.

18-300. Where the infestation is an immediate threat to life or limb, Sec. 18-301 lets the public officer abate it directly, or give the owner only three days to fix it before the city does the work and bills the cost back to the owner or operator.