Monroe Township (Middlesex County), NJ Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 63-27 of the Monroe Township Code, Insect and rat control, sits in Article II (the Monroe Township Property Maintenance Code) of Chapter 63. It places responsibility for extermination of insects, rats, vermin or other pests on the owner of any property, structure, premises or business establishment. The duty covers all exterior areas of the property. There is one exception: the occupant remains responsible for extermination in the exterior areas of the premises of any single-family dwelling.

Several neighboring sections in the same article reduce the conditions that attract pests. Section 63-22 requires all exterior property areas and premises to be kept clean, safe and sanitary and free from any accumulation of refuse. Section 63-23 prohibits open-top waste disposal bins and requires the owner or operator of a property producing garbage, vegetable wastes or other putrescible material to make available, and at all times use, leak-proof, approved containers provided with close-fitting covers, in sufficient number and capacity to store the material until it is removed. Storage of refuse outside a covered container is prohibited.

Section 63-25 addresses standing water: property must be graded and maintained to prevent accumulation of standing or stagnant water, defined as any accumulation of water which has not dispersed within seven days of the last recorded local rainfall. Water retention areas and reservoirs approved by the Property Maintenance Official or Township Engineer are excluded. Section 63-2.1 separately requires anyone who controls a refuse container or dumpster to keep it covered at all times and to prevent refuse from spilling out or overflowing.

The Zoning Officer enforces the code under § 63-34 by signing complaints in the Municipal Court of Monroe Township.