Nicholasville, KY Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 6-306(a) sets the standard: all structures must be kept free from insect and rodent infestation, and where either is found the structure must be promptly exterminated by approved processes that will not be injurious to human health. Afterward, proper precautions must be taken to prevent reinfestation.

Responsibility is split by building type. The owner of any structure handles extermination inside it before renting or leasing it. The occupant of a one-family dwelling or a single-tenant nonresidential structure is responsible for extermination on the premises. In a structure with two or more dwelling units, a multiple occupancy, a rooming house or a nonresidential structure, the owner covers the public or shared areas and the exterior property, while an occupant whose failure to prevent infestation in the area occupied caused it is responsible for extermination there. Section 6-306(e) makes the occupant responsible for the continued rodent and pest-free condition of the structure, except where the infestation is caused by defects in the structure, in which case the owner is responsible.

The yard is covered separately. Section 6-302(e) requires all structures and exterior property to be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation, with rodents promptly exterminated by approved processes and proper precautions taken afterward to eliminate harborage. Building rules back this up: foundation walls must be kept free from open cracks and breaks so rodents and other pests cannot enter (section 6-303(e)), every basement hatchway must be maintained to prevent the entrance of rodents (section 6-303(p)), and every openable basement window needs rodent shields, storm windows or other approved protection (section 6-303(q)). Section 6-305 requires approved covered containers for rubbish. Under section 6-108(a)(3), a structure that is vermin or rat infested can be found unfit for human occupancy and condemned.