Sun Prairie, WI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Nuisance trigger
- Debris where rats or vermin may breed
- Enforcing officers
- Police chief, fire chief, DPW, building inspector
- Summary abatement notice
- As little as 24 hours if urgent
- Standard abatement notice
- At least 10 calendar days
- First offense penalty
- $1 to $1,000 forfeiture
- Repeat offense (24 months)
- $200 to $2,000 forfeiture
Summary
Sun Prairie's public nuisance code makes it illegal to let vermin-breeding sites accumulate on a property: decayed matter, trash, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal or similar debris where rats, mosquitoes or disease-carrying insects can breed is a declared public health nuisance under § 8.44.030(C), enforceable by the police chief, fire chief, public works director or building inspector.
C.Breeding Places for Vermin, Etc. Accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal or any material whatsoever in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying insects, rats or other vermin may breed. ... No action shall be taken under this section to abate a public nuisance unless the officer shall have inspected or caused to be inspected the premises where the nuisance is alleged to exist and has satisfied himself or herself that a nuisance does in fact exist.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 71).
Full Breakdown
030 lists specific conditions the city treats as public health nuisances, and subsection C targets rodent and vermin breeding directly: accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal, or any material in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying insects, rats or other vermin may breed. The same section separately flags unburied animal carcasses left more than twenty-four hours (subsection B), stagnant water where mosquitoes can multiply (subsection D), and garbage cans or privy vaults that are not fly-tight (subsection E), all feeding the same vermin-control goal.
060: the chief of police, the fire chief, the director of public works and the building inspector each enforce the parts of the chapter within their jurisdiction, and none may act until an officer has personally inspected, or had inspected, the property and confirmed the nuisance actually exists. Where the nuisance poses an immediate danger, the officer can order summary abatement in as little as twenty-four hours; where it does not, the notice period is not less than ten calendar days. 070. The owner also has a court remedy: before the abatement date, they can apply to the Dane County circuit court for an order restraining the city from entering and abating.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 8.44 carries its own penalty scale separate from the citywide general penalty: a first offense forfeits not less than $1 nor more than $1,000 under § 8.44.120(A). A second violation within twenty-four months of a prior one raises the range to $200 to $2,000. On top of any forfeiture, the city can bill the property owner directly for its abatement costs as a special tax charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a rodent nuisance under Sun Prairie's code?
Who enforces the rodent nuisance rule in Sun Prairie?
What happens if I ignore a vermin-nuisance abatement notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sun Prairie
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Rodent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dane County handle rodent control.