Coweta County, GA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited conditions
- Weeds, trash, junk, filth, standing water
- Finding authority
- County health department or building inspector
- Evidentiary effect
- Finding is prima facie evidence of violation
- Well water rule
- Private wells must meet state drinking-water standards
- Citation authority
- Health director, enforcement officers, or sheriff
- General penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 60 days jail
Summary
Coweta County has no stand-alone rodent ordinance; instead Code of Ordinances Sec. 42-3.1 bans the buildup of weeds, trash, junk, filth, and standing water that renders property unsafe, unsanitary, or a health hazard, the exact conditions that draw rats, mice, and other vermin. The county health department or building inspector can find a property in violation, and that finding alone counts as prima facie evidence of the violation.
The accumulation of weeds, trash, junk, filth, standing water and any other unsanitary or unsafe condition which renders the property unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the those individuals residing on the property or in the general vicinity of the property shall constitute a public health hazard and a general nuisance. A finding by the county health department or building inspector that such property is a health or safety hazard shall constitute prima facie evidence that said property is in violation of this section. Without limiting the general violations above, no person may maintain a private well water system in such a manner that the water quality of said system violates any of the safe drinking regulations of the State of Georgia as these regulations currently exist or as they may be amended from time to time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 40).
Full Breakdown
Sec. ' Those are the classic harborage conditions for rats, mice, roaches, and mosquitoes, and the ordinance gives the county health department and the building inspector the authority to make the call: once either office finds that a property presents a health or safety hazard, that finding is 'prima facie evidence' the property violates the section, shifting the burden to the owner to rebut it. The same section separately bars maintaining a private well in a way that violates the state's safe drinking water rules as they exist or are later amended.
Sec. 42-3, the section immediately before it, supplies the enforcement teeth: any violation of a rule or regulation adopted by the county board of health is treated as a violation of the county's own ordinances, and the health department director, other county enforcement officers, and the sheriff are all empowered to issue citations for it. Because chapter 42 does not set out a special fine for either section, punishment defaults to Sec. 1-15's general penalty. A property owner cited under Sec. 1 can also be pursued under the separate accumulation-of-trash notice procedure in Sec.
42-6(b) through (f), which lets code enforcement post and mail a written notice, gives the owner 30 days to clean up or request a hearing before the chief building official, and lets the county remedy the condition itself and lien the property for the cost plus escalating penalties if the owner does not comply.
Violations & Fines
A health department or building-inspector finding that a property is unsafe, unsanitary, or a health hazard under Sec. 42-3.1 is prima facie evidence of a violation, and the health director, other enforcement officers, or the sheriff can issue a citation under Sec. 42-3. With no special fine written into either section, Sec. 1-15's general penalty applies: up to $1,000.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, and each day the unsanitary condition continues counts as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Coweta County have a rodent-control ordinance?
Who decides if my property has an unsanitary rodent-attracting condition?
What can happen if I do not clean up an unsanitary condition?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Coweta County
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