Irvington, NJ Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 449, Article I, Rodent Control, was adopted 11-28-1978 by Ordinance No. MC 2550 (originally Chapter 154, Article I of the 1981 Revised Code) and defines its own vocabulary in Section 449-1: 'harborage' is any condition sheltering rats and favoring their multiplication, 'ratproofing' is construction that seals actual or potential openings against rat ingress and egress, and 'owner' reaches not just the freeholder but a managing agent, mortgagee in possession, or, where a commercial lease assigns maintenance to the tenant, the lessee. The operative ban at Section 449-2 makes it unlawful for the owner or occupant of any building in the Township to maintain it in a rodent-infested condition or to permit it to become infested or provide harborage, and declares any such building a nuisance hazardous to the public health.

Section 449-3 extends the same standard forward, requiring that any construction, repair or remodeling be done so as to leave the building ratproof. Once code enforcement personnel serve written notice of an infestation, Section 449-9 puts the owner or occupant on a hard clock: eradication measures must be completed within five days, and the building must be rendered ratproof within 15 days, though the deadlines can be extended for good cause on written application. Section 449-6 separately bars feeding fowl, birds or animals outdoors except in containers that prevent food from scattering and attracting rodents.