Smithtown, NY Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Open-land rule
- Yards/lots free of rodent harborage
- Building rule
- Structures free of vermin/rodent harborage
- Extermination standard
- Generally accepted practices required
- Notice to cure
- 72 hours after mailed notice
- First-offense fine
- Up to $2,500 or 30 days
- Second-offense fine
- Up to $5,000 or 60 days
Summary
Smithtown's Property Maintenance Ordinance bars rodent harborage on both open land and buildings. Yards, courts and vacant lots must stay clean and free of rodent harborage and infestation, and every building or structure in town must be kept free of insect, vermin and rodent harborage using extermination methods that conform to generally accepted practices.
Yards, courts and vacant lots shall be kept clean and free of physical hazards, rodent harborage and infestation or solid waste. They shall be maintained in a manner that will prevent solid waste from being blown about a public place or residential area by the elements or by being scattered by animals. ... Buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insect, vermin and rodent harborage and infestation. Methods used for exterminating insects, vermin and rodents shall conform with generally accepted practices.
Full Breakdown
Section 221-4A(7) covers open land: yards, courts and vacant lots must be kept clean and free of physical hazards, rodent harborage and infestation, or solid waste, and maintained so that solid waste is not blown around a public place or residential area by wind or scattered by animals. Section 221-4B(6) covers structures: buildings and structures must be maintained free of insect, vermin and rodent harborage and infestation, and any extermination method used has to conform with generally accepted practices, which lets the Town object to improvised or hazardous pest control as much as to the infestation itself.
' Enforcement follows the standard Article II path: a mailed notice to cure under § 221-36B gives the owner or occupant 72 hours to remedy an infestation before the Town Board can act, and the enforcement officers named in § 221-38, including the Director of Public Safety and the Chief Building Inspector, can inspect and cite a property under either subsection.
Violations & Fines
A yard, vacant lot, building or structure found harboring rodents in violation of § 221-4A(7) or § 221-4B(6) is subject to the § 221-35A penalty: a fine of up to $2,500 or 30 days imprisonment, or both, for a first offense, and up to $5,000 or 60 days for a second or subsequent offense, with each day the infestation continues treated as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for keeping rats off a Smithtown property?
What counts as rodent harborage under Smithtown's code?
What's the penalty for a rodent-infested lot in Smithtown?
Can Smithtown make me use a specific pest control method?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Smithtown
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