Harford County, MD Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 109-7A places the front-line responsibility on the property owner: keep the property free of the kind of materials, whether stacked debris, uncovered feed or trash, that would give rodents harborage or a food source, and free of anything that would let insects feed, breed or take shelter there. Section 109-7B backs that duty with an inspection power: the Health Department can inspect any premises or facility for insect and rodent infestation, harborage, or feeding and breeding sites, and once it identifies a problem, the property owner must carry out whatever control measures the Department specifies to eliminate or prevent the infestation.

This isn't limited to residential lots; the chapter's definitions describe insect and rodent control as covering any area of the county, and the insects specifically targeted are the ones of public health significance locally, ticks, fleas, body lice, roaches, mites and flies. Section 109-7C reaches into new construction directly: it is the responsibility of County Building Inspectors to confirm that new construction satisfies the BOCA Building Code's rodentproofing provisions before it's signed off, with an editor's note pointing to Chapter 82, Building Construction, as the cross-referenced building code chapter.

Because this sits inside the Environmental Control chapter's Article I general provisions, it's enforced through the same Health Department and Department of Public Works apparatus that handles refuse storage and open dumping complaints under this same article.