Pierce County, WA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- General duty
- Rat-proof docks, buildings, warehouses, residences
- Construction standard
- Screens/cement approved by Director of Health
- Traps
- Required, inspected daily
- Dock/vessel rule
- Boats breasted 6 ft off dock, metal rat guards
- Enforcement
- Director of Health inspections, PCC 8.20.120
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $300 fine or 90 days
Summary
Pierce County's rodent control code, Chapter 8.20 PCC, makes it unlawful to keep food, run a dock or warehouse, or live in a residence in the county without complying with rat-proofing and sanitation rules the Director of Health can inspect and enforce. Buildings must be rat-proofed with approved materials, food kept out of rats' reach, and traps supplied and checked daily, with violators facing up to $300.00 and 90 days in jail.
It is unlawful for any person to keep, store or expose for sale any food products or other goods, or to occupy or maintain any dock, building, storeroom or warehouse or to reside in any residence without complying with the provisions of this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-515, and legislation passed through May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
PCC 8.20.010 sets the baseline duty: no one may keep or sell food products, or occupy a dock, building, storeroom, warehouse, or residence in Pierce County without complying with Chapter 8.20's rodent-control rules. PCC 8.20.020 requires basements and walls to be "constructed, or repaired by the use of screens, nettings, cement or other material or materials approved by the Director of Health as to prevent rats from gaining entrance to or harboring beneath the same," and PCC 8.20.030 makes the owner, lessee, or occupant responsible for keeping the property "in a clean and sanitary condition and rendered free from rats." PCC 8.20.040 requires rat traps "of a pattern approved by the Director of Health" at every covered building, inspected daily with any rat removed, and PCC 8.20.050 lets the Director of Health order poison placed where needed.
PCC 8.20.060 requires food products to be protected from rat access wherever they're kept. The chapter also targets waterfront rat vectors: PCC 8.20.070 requires public and private docks to be screened against rats from vessels at any tide, PCC 8.20.080 requires watercraft at any dock to be "breasted off from such dock or wharf at least six feet" with "metal rat guards" on every mooring line, and PCC 8.20.090 requires gangplanks to be withdrawn between uses unless guarded against rats. PCC 8.20.110 extends the same screening and cement-sealing duties to slaughterhouses.
PCC 8.20.120 gives the Director of Health and Public Health Department staff a standing right to inspect any covered premises "at all reasonable times" to check compliance.
Violations & Fines
PCC 8.20.130 makes any violation of Chapter 8.20 a misdemeanor: a person convicted "shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $300.00 or imprisoned in the County jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court." The Director of Health enforces the chapter through inspections under PCC 8.20.120, and the officer or person in charge of a watercraft is separately responsible under PCC 8.20.100 for keeping that vessel's rat guards and breasting distance in compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to rat-proof their property in Pierce County?
What rat-proofing standard does the county require?
Does the rodent code cover boats and docks?
What's the penalty for violating Pierce County's rodent control code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pierce County
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