Trenton, NJ Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

Section 132-38 targets the physical entry points rodents use: every basement or cellar window used or intended for ventilation, and every other opening into a basement that could let rodents in, must carry a screen or comparable device that effectively blocks their entrance. That structural requirement is paired with an ongoing maintenance duty in § 132-63, Pest extermination. Where an accessory building or a yard condition could harbor noxious insects or rodents, the responsible party must take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate the infestation and prevent it recurring.

For buildings with two or more dwelling units, the owner carries the extermination responsibility outright once infestation exists in two or more units, or in shared or public parts of the building used by multiple households; a single tenant's unit-only infestation is not automatically the owner's problem, but a spreading or common-area problem is. When the Housing Inspector determines extermination is necessary, the owner or occupant must hire a licensed professional exterminator and provide proof of that work to the Division of Housing Inspections, a requirement added by Ordinance No.

16-10 in 2016. Floors are also addressed separately: § 132-59 requires floors be kept free of holes or wide cracks that could admit rodents into a room, reinforcing the pest-exclusion standard from the structural side.