Sussex County, DE Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 71-20, "Extermination," opens with the owner's baseline duty to exterminate insects, rats, vermin or other pests within a structure before renting, leasing or selling it. Once a tenant is in place, Subsection B shifts the ratproof-condition duty to the tenant-occupant, who bears the extermination cost if the ratproof condition isn't maintained. Subsection C makes the sole occupant of a single-dwelling-unit structure responsible for pest control on that structure and its premises, while Subsection D puts the burden on the owner, agent or operator for public or shared areas of a multi-unit building or rooming house.

Subsection E closes the loop, making the owner responsible for making the structure rodentproof and requiring all extermination baits to be used as stated on the package label. The same rodent standard runs through § 71-11F, which requires all premises to remain free of insects, rats, vermin or other pests in all exterior areas, assigning that exterior duty to the owner except in a single-family dwelling's yard, where the occupant answers for it. A structure that stays infested despite notice can be found "unfit for human occupancy" under § 71-26B, which lists vermin or rat infestation as a condemnation ground.