Reading, PA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Reading's Health Code makes every person responsible for exterminating and controlling insect and rodent infestation on any premises under their care, control or custody. Extermination methods must be Health Officer-approved unless performed by a licensed professional exterminator, and homeowners doing their own rodent control may use only anticoagulant-based bait unless the Health Officer approves another product. The same section requires property owners to eliminate standing water that breeds mosquitoes and to route rainwater to the gutter or storm sewer. The Property Improvement Division and City Health Officer, Berks County, Pennsylvania, enforce the chapter.