Pasco, WA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Abatement window
- 3 days after City Manager's designee gives notice
- Trash can standard
- Rodent-proof, insect-proof, 15-32 gallon capacity
- Nuisance penalty
- Up to $500 civil infraction, per day
- Governing chapters
- PMC 8.15 health nuisances; PMC 9.90 public nuisances
- Enforcement
- City Manager's designee; Code Enforcement Officer
Summary
Pasco bans filth, garbage, decaying matter and excrement that draw rats and vermin on any property, giving owners three days to abate once the City Manager's designee gives notice. Trash cans citywide must be rodent-proof and insect-proof, and Chapter 9.90 PMC separately labels rat-harboring conditions a public nuisance.
It is unlawful for any person to have or permit upon any premises owned, occupied or controlled by them any nuisances detrimental to health, or any accumulations of filth, garbage, decaying animals or vegetable matter or any animal or human excrement, and it shall be the duty of the City Manager or his designee to cause any such person to be notified to abolish, abate and remove such nuisances; and in case such person shall fail, neglect or refuse to move the same within three days after receiving notice, such nuisance may be removed and abated and the person whose duty it was to remove and abate such nuisance, in addition to incurring penalties in this code, shall become indebted to the City for the damages, costs and charges incurred by the City by reason of the existence and the removal of such nuisance.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4837, passed May 4, 2026).
Full Breakdown
010 makes it unlawful for any owner, occupant, or person controlling a property to permit "nuisances detrimental to health," including accumulations of filth, garbage, decaying animal or vegetable matter, or animal or human excrement, conditions that draw rats and other vermin. The City Manager or a designee notifies the responsible party, who then has three days from that notice to abolish, abate, and remove the condition before the City can remove it itself and bill the owner for the damages, costs, and charges of the cleanup, on top of any other penalty in the code.
110 requires every solid waste can or container in the City to be "strong, watertight, water impermeable, not easily corrodible, rodent-proof and insect-proof," holding between 15 and 32 gallons, with the Benton-Franklin Health District approving any oversized commercial containers. 110.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring an abatement notice under PMC 8.15.010 lets the City remove the filth, garbage, or excrement itself and bill the owner for every dollar of damages, costs, and charges incurred, on top of other code penalties. Nuisance violations tracked under Chapter 9.90 PMC carry a civil code infraction penalty of up to $500.00, with each day the rat-harboring condition continues counted as a separate infraction, and a trash can that fails the rodent-proof standard of PMC 8.05.110 can also draw a code enforcement citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Pasco cite me for rats on my property?
Do my trash cans have to be rodent-proof in Pasco?
How much notice does the City give before abating a health nuisance itself?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasco
Compare Pasco to another location·View the Washington public health rules overview
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