Kendall County, IL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Accumulation ban
- No refuse/carcass/tire piles that harbor rodents, Sec. 18-21(b)
- Dilapidated buildings
- Fire-damaged/decayed structures harboring rodents are a nuisance
- Animal-keeping rule
- Unsanitary kennels/barns/pens harboring vermin are prohibited
- Farm exemption
- Standard farming and road-work practices are excluded
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine, each uncorrected week a separate offense
Summary
Property owners in unincorporated Kendall County may not let refuse, animal carcasses, tires, or abandoned vehicles pile up if the material could shelter rodents or other vermin, and a fire-damaged or dilapidated building that harbors rodents is a declared public health nuisance under Sec. 18-23(3), both enforced by the County Health Department.
(b)It shall be unlawful to collect or accumulate refuse, offal, animal carcasses, tires, abandoned vehicles, and other materials which could potentially be a harborage for mosquitoes, rodents, or other vermin, or which may impose a physical hazard to the public, with the exception of normal storage of manure or machinery on a farm for agricultural purposes. ... (3)All buildings, walls, or other structures which have been damaged by fire or have become dilapidated, rundown, or decayed and are so situated as to endanger the safety of the public or provide a possible harborage for rodents, insects, and other vermin.
Full Breakdown
Kendall County addresses rodent and vermin control through two linked provisions in Chapter 18's public health nuisance article. Sec. 18-21(b) bars collecting or accumulating refuse, offal, animal carcasses, tires, or abandoned vehicles that could become a harborage for mosquitoes, rodents, or other vermin, or that pose a physical hazard, while carving out an exception for the normal storage of manure or machinery on a farm. Sec. 18-23 separately lists declared public health nuisances, and item (3) covers buildings, walls, or other structures damaged by fire or left dilapidated, rundown, or decayed to the point of endangering public safety or providing a possible harborage for rodents, insects, or other vermin.
Item (4) of the same section reaches unsanitary conditions in a kennel, stable, barn, coop, pen, or yard that leads to a rodent or vermin harborage, and item (5) covers stagnant, impounded water that harbors vermin on residential, commercial, business, industrial, or manufacturing land as defined in the County's Chapter 36 zoning code. All of these nuisances are exempted when the condition results from standard farming or standard road-work practices on County and township roads. The County's enforcement officer, working for the Health Department, investigates complaints under Sec.
18-26, can enter the property on reasonable notice, and issues a written notice to abate before escalating to court if the hazard is immediate and serious.
Violations & Fines
A confirmed rodent-harborage nuisance that is not abated after written notice is punishable under Sec. 18-26(c) by a fine of up to $500.00, with each week the condition continues counted as a separate offense. The enforcement officer may seek an immediate court abatement order when the harborage presents a serious health threat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be cited for a rodent problem caused by junk piling up in my yard?
Does a rundown building count as a rodent nuisance?
What if the rodent harborage is on a farm?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kendall County
Compare Kendall County to another location·View the Illinois public health rules overview
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