Boone County, IN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Boone County Code Chapter 155 (Housing Provisions) puts extermination duty on the person controlling the space. Under § 155.07(I), the occupant of a single dwelling unit is responsible for exterminating insects and rats on the premises, and in a multi-unit dwelling each occupant is responsible when only their own unit is infested. That duty shifts to the owner whenever infestation is caused by the owner's failure to keep the dwelling ratproof or reasonably insect-proof, and whenever two or more units, or the shared/public areas of a multi-unit dwelling, are infested.

Separately, § 155.07(J) makes it unlawful for any building, vehicle, structure, receptacle, yard, lot or premises to be used, maintained or operated so as to become, or become conducive to, a rat harborage. Section 155.07(M) additionally bars owners of three-or-more-unit dwellings from letting rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, junk vehicles or other materials pile up where they could harbor rats in shared areas, requiring stored materials to be stacked and elevated at least 18 inches off the ground. Section 155.07(N) bars anyone from storing or leaving food sources accessible to rats.

The Boone County Health Officer, defined at § 155.06 as the Boone County Public Health Officer or an authorized representative, administers these standards, and the Boone County Department of Public Health issues abatement orders under § 155.07(Y) when a reinspection shows a nuisance condition has not been corrected. Violations of Chapter 155 carry the county's general penalty under § 10.99: a fine up to $2,500 for a first offense and up to $7,500 for a second or later offense, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.