St. Clair County, IL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 29-3-8 sits in the Property Maintenance Code's exterior property standards, alongside the county's weed rule (29-3-7) and graffiti rule (29-3-13), and it applies to every structure and exterior property in the unincorporated county, not just occupied buildings. It requires the property to be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation; once rodents are found, they must be promptly exterminated by approved processes that won't injure human health, and the owner must then take proper precautions to eliminate the harborage and prevent the rodents from coming back. The section carries forward IPMC 302.5, the International Property Maintenance Code provision the county adopted for Chapter 29.

Enforcement runs through the code official under Division VI of Chapter 29. Any conflict with the code is unlawful under 29-1-33, and the code official first serves a notice of violation under 29-1-34. If that notice isn't complied with, 29-1-35 authorizes prosecution as a misdemeanor or civil infraction, treated as a strict-liability offense, and lets the code official sue to restrain, correct or abate the violation; any cost the county incurs abating a rodent problem becomes a lien on the real estate itself. Section 29-1-36 makes the underlying violation a petty offense under the Unified Code of Corrections, 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-75, with every day the violation continues after notice counted as a separate offense. Section 29-1-37 makes clear that paying the penalty doesn't stop the county from also going to court to force the property into compliance.