Oldham County, KY Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Oldham County's nuisance chapter, Fiscal Court Code § 91.01, classifies manure or compost piles that spread disease or attract rodents, vermin or other disease-carrying pests as a nuisance, along with any deleterious or septic material kept outside containers that deny access to rodents, flies, insects or animals. The farming exemption applies only when the material sits more than 100 feet from the nearest property line; overflowing septic tanks fall instead under Health Department rules. Section 91.02 separately bars any owner, lessee or occupant from maintaining a nuisance that causes substantial diminution in neighboring property values.

Enforcement under § 91.04 begins when two county residents file a written petition with the County Zoning Enforcement Officer alleging a nuisance; the officer must visit the property, and if a preliminary investigation supports the complaint, serve notice on the owner, lessee or occupant directing abatement within ten days. Under the § 91.99 penalty clause, anyone who still maintains the nuisance more than ten days after that notice is guilty of a criminal offense punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each offense, and each day the condition continues is a separate offense.

The Fiscal Court may instead pursue civil enforcement before the County Code Enforcement Board under its own regulations and penalties, and the two enforcement tracks are mutually exclusive for any single violation. Because Chapter 91 sits outside the separately adopted Zoning Ordinance, this rodent-attractant standard applies countywide in unincorporated Oldham County regardless of zoning district.