Anne Arundel County, MD Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Duty
- prevent/eliminate pest and rodent harborage
- County provision
- IPMC § 308.6, via § 15-4-201 Supplement
- Enforcer
- County Health Officer
- Notice-violation penalty
- $25 per day
- Multi-unit duty
- owner exterminates shared areas
Summary
Anne Arundel County's Property Maintenance Code requires every dwelling, rooming house, and premises to be kept free of pest, insect, and rodent harborage, with owners of multi-unit buildings responsible for exterminating shared areas.
308.6 Prevention. Each dwelling, multiple dwelling, rooming house, or accessory structure and each premises shall be maintained in a manner that will prevent and eliminate pest, insect and rodent harborage or infestation."
(55) In section 401.3, strike "International Building Code" and substitute "Anne Arundel County Building Code".
(56) In section 402.2, strike the last sentence.
(57) In section 403.3 strike "unless approved through the certificate of occupancy,".
(58) In section 403.5, strike "manufacturer's instructions" and substitute "Anne Arundel County Building Code".
(59) Strike section 404.5 in its entirety.
(60) After section 404.7, insert: "404.8 Floor surface. Every kitchen and food preparation floor shall be maintained to be a smooth, hard, nonabsorbent surface to permit such floor to be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition."
(61) Strike section 502.3 in its entirety.
(62) Strike section 502.4 in its entirety.
(63) Strike section 503.3 in its entirety.
(64) In section 505.1, strike "International Plumbing Code" and substitute "Anne Arundel County Plumbing Code".
(65) In section 506.1, after "an approved" insert "properly functioning".
(66) Strike section 507.1 in its entirety.
(67) In section 602.2, strike "based on the winter outdoor design temperature for the locality indicated in Appendix D of the International Plumbing Code".
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-93: County Code is current through May, 2026).
Full Breakdown
The county's Property Maintenance Code (2003 IPMC as locally amended) makes prevention mandatory: every dwelling, multiple dwelling, rooming house, accessory structure, and premises must be maintained so as to prevent and eliminate pest, insect, and rodent harborage or infestation (§ 15-4-201 Supplement, adding IPMC § 308.6). In buildings with two or more dwelling units or a rooming house, the owner - not individual tenants - must handle extermination in shared and common areas (IPMC § 308.4, as amended). The Health Officer enforces the code; a Property Maintenance Code violation is a Class D civil offense, and failure to comply with a written notice and order draws a $25-per-day fine, assessed per dwelling unit in multi-unit buildings (§ 15-5-102(j)).
Violations & Fines
Class D civil offense under § 15-5-102(j); failure to correct after a Health Officer notice and order draws a $25 fine per day, per dwelling unit in multi-unit buildings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to handle pest control in an Anne Arundel County rental with multiple units?
What happens if I ignore a county notice about a pest problem?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anne Arundel County
Compare Anne Arundel County to another location·View the Maryland public health rules overview
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