Dorchester County, SC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Response window
- 48 hours after written notice
- Responsible party
- occupant, or owner if vacant
- Covered water sources
- tires, pools, ditches, flooded areas
- Repeat-violation rule
- no new notice within 90 days
- Penalty
- misdemeanor under § 14-68
Summary
Any standing water on property in unincorporated Dorchester County that could breed mosquitoes, from a forgotten tire to a flooded ditch, must be removed, treated, or eliminated within 48 hours of written notice under Dorchester County Code § 14-65(b). Miss that window and you're in violation, exposed to the same misdemeanor penalty as any other prohibited nuisance under § 14-68.
(b)Pest control. All property within unincorporated Dorchester County shall be maintained in such a condition as to prevent any collection of water which may support the breeding of mosquitoes. A collection of water shall include, but not be limited to, the following: water contained in tires, tubs, artificial containers, pools, ponds, ditches, streams, flooded areas, and any other standing water which may support the breeding of mosquitoes. All such collections of water must be removed, treated, or otherwise eliminated by the person occupying the property, or in the absence of an occupant, the owner of the property, not less than 48 hours following written notice from the county of such condition. Failure to remedy such condition within such time shall constitute a violation of this section.
Full Breakdown
Section 14-65(b) of the county's nuisance ordinance, added by Ord. No. 89-10 in 1989 and amended by Ord. No. 24-14 in 2024, targets mosquito-breeding standing water rather than rodents directly, but it is the county's operative vector-control rule for improved and unimproved property alike. " The duty to act falls first on whoever occupies the property; if nobody occupies it, the duty shifts to the owner. Once the county administrator or a designee sends written notice describing the standing-water condition, the responsible party has 48 hours, not the ten-day window given for other nuisances under § 14-66, to remove, treat, or otherwise eliminate the water.
Failing to act within that 48-hour clock is itself declared a violation of the section, separate from the general nuisance notice-and-cure process. If the condition recurs within 90 days of an earlier abatement, § 14-66 lets the county skip a second notice altogether and proceed straight to enforcement. Enforcement runs through §§ 14-67 and 14-68: the county can clean the property itself and bill the cost through judicial process, and a person who fails to abate is guilty of a misdemeanor, with the administrator additionally authorized to seek injunctive relief or mandamus in court.
Violations & Fines
Failing to eliminate mosquito-breeding standing water within 48 hours of written notice is a misdemeanor under §§ 14-65(b) and 14-68. The county can also clean the property itself and collect the cost through judicial process under § 14-67, and the administrator may seek an injunction or mandamus order to force compliance. A repeat of the same condition within 90 days of an earlier abatement skips the notice period entirely under § 14-66.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast do I have to drain standing water after Dorchester County sends notice?
What counts as mosquito-breeding water under the ordinance?
What happens if I ignore the 48-hour notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dorchester County
Compare Dorchester County to another location·View the South Carolina public health rules overview
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