Stanislaus County, CA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

010 says cause millions of dollars damage to crops annually and carry diseases that are transmissible and injurious to humans. The commissioner's authority comes from state law: Food and Agricultural Code Section 5101 makes the commissioner an enforcing officer for pest laws, Section 6022 requires cooperation in suppressing field rodents and rodent-borne disease vectors, and Section 6024 lets the commissioner sell bait as part of suppressing or repelling those pests. 040 spells out how the county actually runs the program: the commissioner may sell vertebrate pest control materials only to individuals who produce an agricultural commodity in the county and hold a current pesticide permit or operator identification number, must require purchasers to sign a liability release before selling rodent bait, and only sells it in twenty-five-pound minimum lots that are not intended for residential use.

The commissioner also collects a per-pound surcharge set by the state secretary of food and agriculture and forwards it to fund the state's vertebrate pest program. 050 requires the bait's sale price to be reevaluated every two years, adjusted if necessary to stay at or above total cost, effective each July 1st.