Gary, IN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 18, article V of the Gary Municipal Code targets rat harborage in commercial structures. Section 18-219 requires every business building in the city, defined broadly in section 18-218 to include hotels, apartment buildings, roominghouses, stores, restaurants, warehouses, factories, and their outbuildings, to be ratproofed and kept free of rats to the satisfaction of the health officer. Once the commissioner of health serves written notice ordering ratproofing, the owner has at least 15 days, or a longer written extension, to finish the work before being deemed guilty of an offense under the article.

Section 18-220 separately covers evidence of infestation found by the health officer: the occupant must start rat eradication measures within five days of written notice and keep them up until the health officer declares the premises rat-free. Section 18-221 places ongoing maintenance on the owner, who must repair breaks or leaks in existing ratproofing without waiting for a specific city order. The health commissioner may inspect any business building's interior and exterior at any reasonable time, and section 18-222 requires periodic reinspection of already-ratproofed buildings at intervals of no more than 45 days.

Where harborage is extensive, section 18-223 lets the health commissioner close the building until it is ratproofed, and section 18-224 authorizes condemnation proceedings if the owner has not corrected the conditions within 60 days of notice. Sections 18-228 and 18-229 back the ratproofing rules by making it unlawful to let garbage, rubbish, or accumulated lumber and containers sit on any premises, improved or vacant, in a way that could feed or shelter rats.