Janesville, WI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

The Housing Regulations in Chapter 18 treat rodent control as a property-maintenance duty, not a one-time cleanup. Section 18-104 requires every dwelling and its premises to meet the exterior standards in Sections 18-105 through 18-109 before it can be occupied or rented out. Section 18-107, Exterior property area, Insect and rodent harborage, makes the occupant responsible for exterminating rodents, vermin or other pests in the exterior areas of a single-family dwelling, but shifts that duty to the owner for shared or public exterior areas of any other dwelling type.

Section 18-114 requires guards and screens against rodents and insects: every basement or cellar window opened for ventilation needs a screen or equivalent device, and from June 1 to October 15 each year every door, window or other opening used for ventilation must carry a screen of at least 16 mesh per inch. Section 18-111(a) separately requires foundations, exterior walls and roofs to be kept in a state of repair that excludes rodents. Inside the building, Section 18-121, Interior structure, Insect and rodent harborage, requires the building to be kept free of insect and rodent infestation, requires prompt extermination by processes that will not injure human health, and puts the extermination duty within an infested building on the building's owner.

Enforcement runs through the City's Building Official under Section 18-70. Any denial of a correction or vacate order can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals within 30 days under Section 18-69.