McHenry County, IL Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

McHenry County Public Health Ordinance § 8.04.080 lists the conditions the County Board has declared public health nuisances for unincorporated territory. Subsection (C) targets garbage containers that are not vermin and rodent proof; subsection (D) separately bars any infestation of pests or vermin capable of transmitting communicable disease, and bars leaving in place the conditions on a structure or property that let an infestation take hold. Neither subsection sets a container-material specification; inspectors from the McHenry County Department of Health judge compliance by whether the container actually keeps rodents and vermin out.

Enforcement runs through § 8.04.030. A Department enforcing officer may inspect a property, and on finding a violation must issue a written notice under § 8.04.030(E) that cites the specific subsection violated, gives the owner up to ten days to correct it, and explains the right to seek a Health Authority review within that same ten-day window. The Health Authority must respond to a review request within ten business days. If the Health Authority instead finds an immediate danger to public health, § 8.04.030(K) lets the Department seek a court order for emergency abatement without prior notice, with the property owner bearing the abatement cost.

Under § 8.04.050, a person who maintains a nuisance under § 8.04.080 or otherwise violates the Public Health Ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000, and each day the violation continues is a separate offense. The Department may also sue in McHenry County Circuit Court, working with the State's Attorney's Office, to enjoin the nuisance and force its abatement.