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

252 defines a Rodent or Insect Harborage as any building, structure, item, or anything else that provides or tends to provide rodents or insects refuge from frequent molestation or disturbance, giving as examples an outdoor trash or recycling container with holes, an open or improperly closed lid, or one otherwise accessible to pests, and deteriorated buildings or structures with access points for rodents or insects. 6 declares Pest Harborage a specific Public Nuisance outright: the existence of any such harborage violates the section without further proof of a health hazard.

The code also defines a Rodent-Proof Container as one made of concrete or metal, or lined with or made of material impervious to rodents, with tight-fitting openings that prevent entry. Related nuisance categories in the same section reinforce the rodent-control scheme: Junk left in a front or side yard without being surrounded by a fence, kept on a porch, or stored in a completely enclosed, flytight, waterproof, and rodent-proof container is separately declared a nuisance, as is an unburied animal carcass and standing water that becomes an attraction for rodents, insects, or other pests.

An Enforcing Officer may deliver an abatement order requiring correction within 15 days for most nuisances, shortened to 3 days for the Junk-in-front-yard and unburied-carcass violations, and the City may abate the condition itself and bill the cost as a special charge under Wis. 0627 if the owner fails to act.