Boulder, CO Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 6-5, "Rodent Control," states its purpose is to protect public health by requiring owners and occupants to eradicate rats, eliminate rat harborage, and rat-proof buildings and adjacent premises, including ditches, drainage ponds, and other watercourses. Section 6-5-3 sets the core duty: owners and occupants must rat-proof their buildings, keep them and adjacent premises free of rats, and repair any breaks or leaks in rat-proofing material; contractors who remove rat-proofing during construction or remodeling must restore it, and any new construction, repair, or remodeling must leave the building rat-proof.

Watercourse owners, such as those with a ditch, drainage pond, or lake, must eliminate rat food sources and harborage and eradicate any infestation. Enforcement runs through Section 6-5-4: the city manager may inspect building interiors, exteriors, and adjacent watercourses, and on finding a violation must notify the owner or occupant, who then has fifteen days to complete rat-proofing or five days to complete eradication, subject to extension for good cause. If the notified person fails to correct the violation, the city manager may perform the work and charge the cost plus up to $25 in administrative fees to the property, certifying unpaid charges to the Boulder County Treasurer for collection like delinquent property taxes.

For extensive infestations, the city manager can order a commercial building or watercourse closed until it is rat-proofed, seek condemnation after thirty days of continued noncompliance, pursue injunctive relief, or summarily abate during a public health emergency. Section 6-5-5 separately requires food-storage businesses to rodent-proof their buildings and requires stored animal feed to be kept in rodent-free, rodent-proof containers or rooms.