Black Hawk County, IA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Black Hawk County Code Section 8.10.040(A) puts the abatement duty squarely on the property owner: once the Health Officer determines cockroaches, rodents, or other vermin are present on or about a building, dwelling, structure, business, or lot, the owner must initiate action to abate them, or cause them to be abated, within whatever time limit the Health Officer sets, so that the infestation is effectively minimized. This sits alongside two related nuisance categories in Section 8.10.030: subsection (A), which reaches storing or depositing filth, refuse, or garbage so as to be conducive to breeding rats or other vermin, and subsection (M), which separately makes it a nuisance to establish, continue, maintain, or operate any building or place conducive to breeding, harboring, feeding, or sheltering vermin or pests such as flies, mice, cockroaches, rats, and pigeons.

If the infestation is severe enough, Section 8.10.040(B) lets the Health Officer designate the building unfit for human habitation, requiring the owner to vacate it within the Health Officer's time limit; removing or defacing that unfit placard is itself prohibited. The Health Officer investigates on complaint or independently under Section 8.10.050 and, if refused entry for inspection, can obtain a magistrate's warrant under Section 8.10.060. Notice of a rodent or vermin violation must be in writing, state the reasons, allow reasonable time to comply, and be served on the owner or occupant under Section 8.10.070, and the recipient can appeal to the Board of Health within 20 days under Section 8.10.080.

A conviction under Section 8.10.100 is a simple misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $100.00, with each day the infestation continues a separate offense, and unpaid abatement costs the County incurs become a lien on the property under Section 8.10.110.