Lake County, IN Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Licensed manufactured/mobile home parks
- Core duty
- No debris harboring rodents or insects
- Storage rule
- Building materials kept in structure or fenced area
- Enforcing officer
- Lake County Health Officer
- Penalty
- $10-$300 fine, each day separate
- Landfill rule
- Daily disposal of rodent food waste (§ 94.61)
Summary
Unincorporated Lake County requires every licensed manufactured home park to stay free of debris that could shelter rodents, flies or mosquitoes, under County Code § 152.035(D)(7)(c). A companion rule at § 152.036(I)(5) requires construction-material storage areas within a park to be kept in a way that prevents rodent harborage. The County Health Officer enforces both, backed by Chapter 152's misdemeanor penalty.
Manufactured home parks shall be maintained free of accumulations of debris which may provide rodent harborage or breeding places for flies, mosquitos, and other pests.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-14: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through 6-9-2026; and State legislation current through Indiana Legislative Service, 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
Lake County Code Chapter 152 sets the sanitation baseline for every licensed manufactured and mobile home park in the unincorporated county. " That duty falls on the park owner or operator, not on individual tenants, and it is not limited to garbage; any accumulated debris capable of sheltering rodents or breeding insects triggers it. 036(I)(5) requires that "construction materials storage areas for the manufactured home park shall be so maintained as to prevent rodent harborage," directing that "lumber, pipe, and other building material shall be stored within a structure or fenced-in storage area" rather than left in open piles.
035(D)(7), is the enforcing authority for both provisions and can order harborage conditions abated. 61, forbidding uncooked garbage from being made available for animal consumption at any landfill site and requiring rodent-and-insect food materials to be disposed of daily in a manner the Health Officer approves. Together the two chapters cover the county's two direct points of rodent exposure: housing-density parks and landfill operations. Both trace to the 1995 park ordinance, Ord. 1626, and the 1974 landfill ordinance, Ord. 26, respectively, and both carry the misdemeanor penalties fixed in their own chapters.
Violations & Fines
A manufactured home park that lets debris accumulate into rodent or insect harborage violates Chapter 152 and is subject to § 152.999's misdemeanor penalty: a fine of $10 to $300 for each offense, with every day the condition persists counted as a separate violation. At a sanitary landfill, failing to daily dispose of food waste under § 94.61 is enforced under the landfill chapter's own penalty at § 94.99.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my mobile home park owner ignore a rat problem?
Where can lumber or pipe be stored at a mobile home park?
Does the county regulate rodents anywhere besides mobile home parks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lake County
Compare Lake County to another location·View the Indiana public health rules overview
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