Stearns County, MN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

6 of Ordinance 272, 'Rodent Harborages and Food,' prohibits any owner or occupant of a rental dwelling unit from accumulating boxes, lumber, wood, scrap metal or similar materials in a way that could shelter rodents, and requires stored materials to be stacked neatly at least ten feet from any dwelling unit and one foot above the ground. It separately bars leaving out anything that could serve as rodent food where rodents can reach it. 5 assigns extermination duty: a tenant handles pest control when only their own unit is infested, but the owner must exterminate whenever infestation stems from the owner's failure to keep the building rodent-proof, or whenever two or more units or shared/public areas are infested.

4, 'Rodent Proof,' goes further on the building itself: every dwelling, accessory structure and premises must be kept rodent-free and rodent-proof, and any opening in an exterior wall, foundation, basement, floor or roof measuring a half inch in diameter or larger must be rodent-proofed in an approved manner. 1 requiring correction within a set time.