Fontana, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Sec. 24-13, part of the solid waste chapter, opens by noting that insects and rodents are known to transmit pathogens through unsanitary, unattended or exposed solid waste, and bars anyone from removing material from a solid waste, organic waste or recyclable materials container with or without permission. It requires wet household refuse to be placed in designated containers in a way that will not create a nuisance, odors or vector breeding, and bars dead animals, infectious waste, hazardous waste, toxic waste and dangerous materials from ordinary solid waste, organic waste or recycling containers; those materials must instead be stored and transported under applicable federal, state and local codes.

This sits alongside the general storage and accumulation rules in Sec. 24-12, which require solid waste to be kept in a container with a close-fitting cover and require the property owner to keep the storage area clean and sanitary. Outside the solid waste chapter, Sec. 18-2(d)(6)b separately lists a building or structure that "is a breeding place for rodents or vermin" as a public nuisance, and Sec. 2 and (7)o add overgrown vegetation "likely to harbor such nuisances as rats or vermin" and vegetation that obstructs sightlines or is likely to harbor rodents or vermin to the same nuisance list.

Any property cited under these vegetation or structure provisions goes through the Chapter 18 notice-and-abatement process: a director of community development notice, a minimum ten-day correction period, and a hearing before the city manager if the condition isn't voluntarily fixed, with unpaid abatement costs becoming a lien on the property.