St. Tammany Parish, LA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 26-2(3) singles out "any condition which provides harborage for rats, mice, snakes and other vermin" as one of the illustrative nuisances the parish prohibits on public or private property, part of a list the section says is not exhaustive. The parish's blight article reinforces the same concern: section 26-84(a) states that Article III on blighted and derelict structures exists in part "to limit and prevent the harborage of insects, rodents, and other vermin," so a structure that shelters rodents can be pursued as blight as well as a standalone nuisance.

For a rodent-harborage complaint under section 26-2, enforcement follows the standard chapter 26 process: section 26-4 authorizes the sheriff, parish constables, planning and permits enforcement officers, the parish health officer, or the fire protection district chief to issue a written notice to abate once the condition is verified, and section 26-5 requires that notice to describe the condition, specify the corrective action, and set a reasonable deadline. If the property owner does not act, section 26-7 lets the parish abate the condition directly, and section 26-8 recovers the cost as a lien against the property bearing interest at the legal rate.

Because rodent harborage often overlaps with the accumulation of rubbish or junk that itself creates the harborage, an inspector citing this section will frequently reference section 26-2(2) as well. As with the rest of chapter 26, this rule reaches only unincorporated parish land; incorporated cities enforce their own health and nuisance codes.