Cherokee County, GA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Division 3 of Chapter 14, Secs. 14-96 through 14-101, governs rodent control across the unincorporated county. Sec. 14-96 places the base obligation on owners of business buildings: they must have such buildings rat-proofed and keep them rat-proofed, and whenever the marshal deems conditions inside, under, or around a business building are providing harborage for rats, the marshal can order the owner to take whatever steps the marshal, in his or her discretion, deems essential to eliminate that harborage, with failure to obey by the compliance date itself a separate violation.

Sec. 14-97 layers on daily duties for occupants of business buildings: garbage must go in rat-proof metal or marshal-approved containers, buildings and grounds must stay free of trash and debris that could nest rats, and a program of rat control must be pursued. Sec. 14-98 extends similar duties to dwellings, requiring clean shared areas in multi-unit buildings, rat-proof and watertight garbage containers with tight-fitting covers, and stored materials stacked at least 18 inches above the ground to avoid harborage; it assigns extermination responsibility to the occupant for a single infested unit but shifts that responsibility to the owner when infestation stems from the owner's failure to keep the building rat-proof, or when two or more units or shared areas are infested.

Sec. 14-99 bars anyone, including plumbers, contractors, or utility companies, from removing rat-proofing without restoring it or sealing new openings. Sec. 14-101 authorizes the marshal to inspect any building or property for rat-proofing and infestation conditions whenever there is reasonable cause, and owners and occupants must permit that inspection on request.