Pender County, NC Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 26-16(j), part of the county's general storage and disposal practices for all solid waste, requires that refuse be placed and maintained in refuse receptacles or detachable containers, that it be stored in a manner that will not provide harborage to rodents and vermin and will not create a fire hazard, and that every receptacle and container be kept covered at all times with tight fitting covers until the waste is disposed of. That standard connects to § 26-17(a), which defines an 'adequate and suitable' container as one that is enclosed and stands upright without needing support or bracing, and to § 26-16(e), which separately bars leaving junk, dilapidated furniture or inoperative appliances outside a building where they are visible from the street, another common rodent-harborage risk.

Section 26-16(a) backs up the harborage rule by declaring any unauthorized accumulation of solid waste on a lot, street or public or private place a public nuisance. The Pender County Solid Waste Department enforces these storage standards countywide in the unincorporated area.