St. Peters, MO Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 215.010(E), Rodent Harborage, declares a public nuisance out of paper, lumber, rocks, boxes, barrels, bottles, cans, or other trash or debris, or other material allowed to accumulate or remain on any premises, whether improved or unimproved, occupied or vacant, or on any open lot or alley within the City, whenever it creates a condition which provides shelter, food or protection for rodents, or a breeding place for such rodents. The rule reaches vacant lots and alleys as well as occupied yards, and it does not require proof that rodents are already present, only that the material creates a harboring condition.

Subsection (J), added by Ord. No. 7840 on July 27, 2023, extends the same concern to composting: item 6 requires every compost plot to be maintained so as to prevent the attraction or harborage of rodents and pests, and states that the presence of rodents in or near a compost pile shall be cause for the City to issue an order to abate. Related nuisance categories in the same Section cover mosquito breeding water (Subsection (D)) and general rubbish or junk that draws rats, mice, snakes or vermin (Subsection (F)), so rodent complaints are typically investigated alongside those conditions. The City Health Official has a statutory right of entry to inspect any property reasonably believed to be a health hazard under Section 215.020.