Fort Myers, FL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Duty holder
- Owner, tenant, or occupant
- Trigger
- Property infested/inhabited by rodents
- Classification
- Declared a public nuisance
- City remedy
- City service + cost lien on property
- Where codified
- Solid waste chapter, not a pest code
Summary
Fort Myers makes it a public nuisance for solid waste on your property to attract or harbor rodents, and puts eradication on the owner or tenant.
property within the city to the extent and in the manner that such property is or may reasonably become infested or inhabited by rodents, vermin or wild animals, or may furnish a breeding place for flies or other germ carrying insects, or threatens or endangers the public health, safety or welfare, or may reasonably cause disease, or adversely affects and impairs the economic welfare of adjacent property, is hereby prohibited and declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful. In the event of rodents, vermin, wild animals, flies or other germ carrying insects, it is the responsibility of the owner, tenant or occupant to eradicate the infestation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 60).
Full Breakdown
Under the city's solid waste chapter, letting garbage or unsecured, unsightly material accumulate on a property so that it becomes infested or inhabited by rodents, vermin or wild animals, or breeds flies or other germ-carrying insects, is declared a public nuisance and is unlawful. The code puts the eradication duty squarely on the owner, tenant or occupant once an infestation exists, not just on keeping the yard tidy. If the underlying problem is inadequate trash collection, the city can step in, supply the service itself, and bill the property owner, with the cost becoming a lien if unpaid. This sits in the solid waste article rather than a standalone pest-control chapter, Fort Myers regulates rodents as a byproduct of trash management, not through a dedicated extermination code.
Violations & Fines
Code enforcement can act on a rodent/vermin infestation nuisance without a separate pest-control ordinance; unresolved cases go to the city's code enforcement board, which can assess collection costs plus a lien against the property, foreclosable like a mortgage with recoverable attorney fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Fort Myers have a standalone rodent-control ordinance?
Who has to deal with a rat or rodent problem on a property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Myers
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