East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

East Baton Rouge Parish's rodent-control duty for private property sits in the Nuisances title's weeds chapter, not the animal control or mosquito-abatement titles. Sec. 12:405(a) applies to every owner of immovable property in the parish zoned anything other than rural, and requires the lot be maintained so it does not attract rodents, reptiles, mosquitoes, vermin and other pests. The same subsection separately bars leaving a structure unoccupied, without running water or electricity for at least two weeks, in a condition that lets it be entered by means other than a key or forced entry.

Sec. 12:405(b) sets two conditions that count as prima facie evidence of a violation: grass or weeds over twelve inches high for more than two weeks (with an exception for grazing land or contiguous tracts of two acres or more carrying an active building permit), and a structure left unlocked or with open doors and windows accessible to the public (excluding utility buildings on an occupied lot and outbuildings tied to an operating business). Enforcement runs through Sec. of the City-Parish Code, and Sec. 12:405(c) sets escalating fines: $125 for a first violation, $250 for a second within two years, and $500 for a third or later violation within that same two-year window.

The section was most recently amended by Ord. No. 19866 on May 27, 2026. This duty sits apart from Sec. 6:636, which lets the East Baton Rouge Parish Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control District enter vacant or abandoned property to spray for mosquitoes, rodents and other vermin; Sec. 12:405 is the standing duty on every owner, while Sec. 6:636 is the district's own entry power.