Hendricks County, IN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered facilities
- Hotels, motels, inns
- Log retention
- 1 year, pest complaints/invoices
- Closure trigger
- Any confirmed pest infestation
- Whole-property closure
- >25% of rooms infested
- Penalty per violation
- $250, capped at $5,000
- Inspecting agency
- County Health Department
Summary
Hendricks County lodging establishments must stay free of harborage conditions and rodent infestations, keep a written pest-complaint policy, and retain pest control logs for a year. The County Health Department can close infested rooms and impose civil penalties up to $5,000.
HARBORAGE. Any place where pests can live, nest, seek shelter, or reproduce. This includes, but is not limited to, cardboard boxes, trash, unused tires, unused appliances, and building materials. ... (A) The lodging establishment is free of any unsanitary or unlawful condition, including, but not limited to, harborage conditions, the presence of pests, or infestations.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-3: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2024-50, passed 12-10-2024; and State law current through Indiana Legislative Service, 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
01 defines HARBORAGE as "any place where pests can live, nest, seek shelter, or reproduce. This includes, but is not limited to, cardboard boxes, trash, unused tires, unused appliances, and building materials," and defines PEST to expressly include a rodent. 03(C) requires pest complaint logs and pest control invoices to be kept on the premises for at least one year, available for Health Officer inspection. 04(D) requires the owner to provide staff training and educational materials on pest identification and activity indicators. 04(H), whenever the Health Officer finds an infestation in a guest room, it may order immediate closure of that room and any contiguous rooms without notice or hearing, and if the infestation covers more than 25% of the guest rooms the whole lodging establishment may be ordered closed. C. 02(C).
Violations & Fines
Section 114.99 authorizes a civil penalty of $250 per violation, capped at $5,000 total, multiplied by the number of days the County Health Department documents the condition as uncorrected. The Health Officer may close a rodent-infested room, or the entire establishment above the 25% infestation threshold, without prior notice under § 114.04(G)-(H), and habitual non-compliance can lead to an administrative hearing under § 114.04(I)-(J).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as harborage under Hendricks County's pest rules?
Must a Hendricks County hotel keep pest control records?
Can the county shut down a hotel over a rodent problem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hendricks County
Compare Hendricks County to another location·View the Indiana public health rules overview
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