Polk County, IA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

The Polk County Health Nuisance Regulation, enforced by the Public Works Department's Health Officer, treats vermin infestation as a mandatory-abatement condition rather than a discretionary complaint. Once the Health Officer determines cockroaches, rodents or other vermin are present on a lot, building, dwelling, structure or business, Section 2-3(b) requires the responsible party to start abatement within the time limit the Health Officer specifies, until the vermin are effectively minimized. A related nuisance, Section 2-5(j), separately reaches any building or place conducive to breeding, harboring, feeding or sheltering vermin or pests such as flies, mice, cockroaches or rats.

Enforcement runs through the county's abatement-order machinery: under Section 2-8 the Health Officer must serve a written order describing the condition, its location, the Article violated, the required remedial action, a reasonable deadline, and notice that the county can abate the nuisance and bill the cost against the real estate as an assessment collected like a property tax. A recipient may request an administrative hearing under Section 2-9(a), but the request must physically reach the Department at least seven calendar days before the order's deadline; a hearing officer can then void, uphold, or modify the order under Section 2-10(c).

Anyone found in violation three times in an 18-month period at any location in the county is a Habitual Violator under Section 2-2(b), which lets the county seek a court injunction covering all real estate that person owns or controls.