Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 213-32, Freedom from infestation, is two sentences long, but the chapter around it supplies the meaning. INFESTATION is defined in § 213-2 as the presence, within or contiguous to a structure or premises, of insects, rodents, vermin or other pests. EXTERMINATION is defined as the control and elimination of insects, rodents or other pests by eliminating their harborage places, by removing or making inaccessible materials that could serve as their food, by poison spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other approved pest elimination methods. The standard therefore covers the whole premises, and the duty is prevention first and shared abatement second.

Responsibility is split by type of home. Under § 213-43E, every occupant of a single-family dwelling is responsible for the elimination of infestation in the dwelling and on the premises. Every occupant of a dwelling unit in any other dwelling is responsible for eliminating conditions causing infestations that the occupant caused and those under the occupant's exclusive control.

Several neighboring rules remove the food and shelter that rodents need. Dumpsters cannot sit within 15 feet of any building unless the Fire Prevention Bureau grants relief (§ 213-35). Storage bins, rooms and areas cannot be used for accumulated garbage or refuse (§ 213-36). Common areaways, stairways, balconies, porches, hallways, basements and cellars must stay free of accumulations of garbage, refuse or rubbish (§ 213-39A), and a basement or cellar must be kept free of filth, ashes, garbage, rubbish, refuse, junk, soil matter, wood and paper (§ 213-39E). Section 213-19B(1) prohibits garbage, trash, refuse and debris upon properties, and § 213-34 requires all parts of dwellings and structures to be kept clean and sanitary.

Procedurally, § 213-16A lists § 213-32 among the violations excepted from the rule that notice of violation is served upon the owner of record.