Corvallis, OR Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

In the City of Corvallis, Chapter 4.02 of the Corvallis Municipal Code, Rat Eradication, traces to Ordinance 61-58 of 1961 and still governs every building, lot and premises in the city. Section 4.02.010 defines 'rat harborage' as any condition that provides shelter or protection for rats, favoring their multiplication and continued existence in, under, or outside of any structure, and defines 'owner' and 'occupant' broadly to include any individual, partnership or corporation using, agenting or occupying the property. Section 4.02.020 places the duty on both the owner and the occupant: each must cause the building, lot and premises to be rat-proofed, freed of rats, and maintained in a rat-proof and rat-free condition, and the compliance standard is the City Manager's reasonable satisfaction rather than a fixed technical spec.

Section 4.02.030 layers on an active elimination duty: the owner and occupant of any lot, building or premises must eliminate all rats and destroy any rat harborage on property they own and occupy. Section 4.02.040 reaches everyday garbage handling: within the corporate limits, garbage or refuse containing waste animal or vegetable matter rats could feed on must be placed and stored until collection in covered containers of a type the City Manager prescribes, and dumping any dead animal or waste vegetable or animal matter on premises, land or a waterway is separately unlawful (residential composting of waste vegetable matter is exempted).

Enforcement runs through the City Manager's office rather than a separate vector-control division. Section 4.02.070 sets the penalty: any person, firm or corporation violating the chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00, imprisonment of not more than 90 days, or both, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense, so an unaddressed rat harborage can generate a new charge daily until it is abated.