Lincoln, NE Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 8.26.030
- Enforcing office
- Health Director
- Abatement notice
- 5 days (24 hrs if emergency)
- Geographic reach
- City plus 3-mile ETJ
- Classification
- Misdemeanor public nuisance
Summary
Lincoln property owners, lessees, and occupants must keep lots free of garbage, rubbish, and other matter that breeds rats, mice, or insects, or face misdemeanor nuisance charges.
It shall be the duty of every owner, lessee, tenant, or occupant of any lot or parcel of ground within the city or within three miles of the corporate limits thereof to keep said premises owned, leased, or occupied by such person free from garbage, refuse, rubbish, brush, trash, junk, old building material, offal, manure, and any other offensive or unwholesome matter, and it shall be unlawful for such owner, lessee, tenant, or occupant of such lot or parcel of ground to permit, keep, or maintain thereon any such condition liable to become putrid or injurious to the public health, or any such condition liable to produce disease, or which is conducive to the breeding and existence of rats, mice, flies, mosquitoes, bacteria, or any other rodents or insects. The maintenance or permitting of any of the foregoing conditions on any such lot or parcel of ground is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable as hereinafter provided in this code.
Full Breakdown
Lincoln Municipal Code Section 8.26.030 makes it every owner's, lessee's, tenant's, or occupant's duty to keep a lot or parcel, inside city limits or within three miles of them, free of garbage, refuse, rubbish, brush, trash, junk, old building material, offal, manure, and any other offensive matter that could breed rats, mice, flies, mosquitoes, bacteria, or other rodents or insects. Maintaining such a condition is a declared public nuisance and a misdemeanor. The Health Director serves a written notice to abate within five days, or 24 hours if the Mayor declares an immediate hazard; if the owner fails to comply, the city removes the nuisance and assesses the cost against the property.
Violations & Fines
Misdemeanor public nuisance; city assesses abatement cost against the property as a lien if the owner doesn't clear the condition after notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What conditions count as a rodent nuisance in Lincoln?
How much time do I get to fix it?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lincoln
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