Mesa County, CO Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Adopted as Public Health Rule 2018-01-01 under the county and district public health agency's nuisance-abatement authority in C.R.S. §25-1-518, the Infestation and Rodent Harborage Code puts the maintenance burden squarely on property owners and occupants. Section 4.01 requires that "every dwelling, multiple dwelling, rooming house, or accessory structure and its included premises shall be maintained in a condition that promotes a rodent/insect-free, and a rodent/insect-proof environment." Section 4.04 goes further, prohibiting the exact behavior that most often causes an infestation: "no owner or occupant of a dwelling shall accumulate rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, or any other materials so that rodent harborage exists in or about any dwelling or dwelling unit."

The rule splits responsibility along tenancy lines. Occupants must "actively eliminate the conditions that lead to pest infestations such as accumulation of food, water, and harborage" (Section 4.02) and store garbage in a "clean, sanitary, and safe manner" (Section 4.06), but if an infestation traces back to the owner's failure to keep the building itself rodent-proof, such as unsealed foundation gaps rodents can enter through, Section 4.03 shifts pest-control responsibility to the owner.

Investigations start from a citizen complaint, staff observation, or other information under Section V, handled by Code Compliance Services or Mesa County Public Health following their standard operating procedures. Section VI gives the Board of Public Health broad enforcement tools: "criminal and civil actions and penalties, injunctions, and abatement." If the Board has to pay to abate a rodent nuisance itself, Section 2.04(2) lets it recover that cost from the property owner as a special assessment collected the same way as other taxes.