Montgomery County, VA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Chapter 7 Article III Nuisances Generally lists the accumulation of matter of any kind within a residential area that would be a breeding or harboring place for flies, insects, reptiles or rodents as one of several enumerated nuisances under Sec. 7-54, alongside stagnant water that breeds mosquitoes (Sec. 7-55) and unsafe structures. Sec. 7-56 places responsibility for preventing such an accumulation on the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or person in charge of the real property, and their agents. Enforcement runs through Sec. 7-57: the county health officer inspects the county from time to time and investigates on complaint from any responsible person, and may enter private premises with reasonable advance notice unless notice would defeat the purpose of the entry.

For an ongoing accumulation, the officer gives written notice describing the condition and requiring it remedied within no more than 10 days; the owner or occupant may appeal to the Board of Supervisors within 2 days, which stays the notice until the board decides, and the board's decision is final. If the officer states the condition is an imminent hazard, immediate compliance is required regardless of the 10-day allowance. If the notice is ignored, the county remedies the condition itself and charges the addressee, collected the same way as county taxes. Sec. 7-53 separately makes maintaining any nuisance, statutory or Code-defined, unlawful, and abatement doesn't bar prosecution.