Georgetown, TX Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Core prohibition
- Carrion/filth accumulation banned, § 8.20.060
- Rodent-breeding category
- Named violation, § 1.15.012(A)(4)
- Abatement notice period
- 7 days, § 8.20.095
- Max fine (public health)
- $2,000.00, § 1.08.010(B)
- Lien interest rate
- 10% until paid, § 8.20.110
- Enforcing office
- Code Compliance Department
Summary
Georgetown's nuisance chapter makes it unlawful to let carrion, filth, or other unwholesome matter accumulate on any lot, yard or building, and its administrative-hearing chapter separately names conditions from refuse or vegetation that create breeding and living places for insects and rodents as an enforceable City ordinance violation.
Sec. 8.20.060. - Accumulations of carrion, filth, etc. It is unlawful for any person who owns or occupies any house, building, establishment, lot or yard in the City to permit or allow any carrion, filth or other impure or unwholesome matter to accumulate or remain thereon.
Sec. 1.15.012. - Violations subject to administrative hearing process.
A. Applicability. The administrative hearing process established in this Chapter may be used to enforce City ordinances of the types listed in V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 54.032, specifically including, without limitation, the following types of City ordinances: ... 4. Relating to conditions caused by accumulations of refuse, vegetation, or other matter that creates breeding and living places for insects and rodents;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Unified Development Code: Supplement 15).
Full Breakdown
020(B) separately lists carcasses, decaying flesh, fish, fowl or vegetables and deposits of manure among the specific conditions the City treats as nuisances subject to abatement. 005 to include garbage, animal carcasses, offal and manure, and "rubbish" covers larger discarded material such as junked vehicles and scrap. 15 process, alongside animal control and building-condition violations. 095 requires the City to notify the responsible owner, occupant, or person in control by hand delivery, mail to the address on file with the Williamson County Appraisal District, or posting on the property, and gives that person seven days to correct the condition before the City may enter the property, abate the nuisance with its own forces, and bill the owner for the cost.
110 lets the City file the abatement expense as a lien against the property, second only to tax and street-improvement liens, bearing ten percent interest until paid. Enforcement of the underlying carrion/filth and vegetation nuisances is handled by the City's Code Compliance Department under the Chief Code Compliance Officer.
Violations & Fines
A rodent-breeding nuisance under Chapter 8.20 defaults to the general penalty in Section 1.08.010(A): a fine up to $500.00 per offense. Because the condition is a public-health matter, Section 1.08.010(B) allows the fine to run as high as $2,000.00. Section 1.08.010(C) makes each day the condition continues a separate offense. If the owner does not abate within the seven-day notice period, the City can abate by its own forces under Section 8.20.095 and recover costs plus legal and administrative expenses as a lien bearing 10 percent interest under Section 8.20.110.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgetown, TX have a rodent-control ordinance?
What happens if I don't clean up a rodent-attracting condition?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Georgetown
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