Monterey County, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Monterey County Code § 10.41.020(E)
- Trigger
- Waste that breeds or attracts rodents/flies
- Who decides
- County Director of Health
- Exception
- Composting food, yard or green waste
- Food facilities
- Rodent-proof containers required, § 10.41.020(F)
- Default penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Monterey County Code § 10.41.020(E) bans letting solid waste pile up on any unincorporated-county property if the accumulation breeds or attracts flies or rodents, creates odors, or otherwise threatens public health. Composting food, yard and green waste and burying dead animals are allowed exceptions, but the Director of Health can order any accumulation removed once it becomes a nuisance.
E.Unlawful Accumulations. A person shall not accumulate, or allow to accumulate, any solid waste, either on the surface of the ground or buried beneath the ground, on any premises owned or leased by him or her, or under his or her possession or control, except that a person may accumulate food waste, yard waste or green waste for the purpose of composting and to bury dead animals. The owner or tenant of any agricultural property may allow food waste to be accumulated, stored, disposed of or used for stock feeding on the premises. The authorized accumulations may continue as long as the accumulated wastes do not become a nuisance due to the breeding or attraction of flies or rodents of from odors, or create a hazard to public health, safety, or welfare, as determined by the Director of Health.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
020(F) layers a stricter, more specific rule onto restaurants and food-preparing facilities: their food waste must be kept in 'leak-proof and rodent-proof containers covered with tight fitting lids' and hauled away at least once a week. Two narrow exceptions to the general accumulation ban exist: a person may keep food, yard or green waste on hand specifically for composting, and may bury a dead animal rather than remove it immediately. Agricultural property owners get an added carve-out to accumulate and use food waste for stock feeding.
020(E) requires written notice to the owner, tenant or person in possession of the property, who must then remove the waste within a reasonable time set by the Director; failing to comply after that notice is itself declared unlawful under the same subsection.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a Director of Health removal notice under § 10.41.020(E) is a violation of Chapter 10.41 and defaults to the County's general penalty at Monterey County Code § 1.20.040(B)(1): a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in county jail, or both. Restaurants and food facilities that skip the weekly pickup required for rodent-proof food-waste containers under § 10.41.020(F) face the same default misdemeanor exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the county make me clean up a pile of yard debris that's attracting rats?
Is it legal to keep a compost pile if it might attract rodents?
Do restaurants have extra rodent-control rules beyond the general nuisance ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey County
California rules heatmap·Compare Monterey County to another location·View the California public health rules overview
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