Wayne County, MI Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Ch. 156, Environmental Health Education Program
- Program authorized
- Coordinated rodent-control education with municipalities
- Funding basis
- Subject to appropriations; grants authorized
- Property mandate
- None: no fine or permit imposed
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 99-537, Sept. 16, 1999
Summary
Wayne County's Environmental Health Unit runs a coordinated rodent-control education program under Ord. No. 99-537: there's no county mandate that property owners rat-proof containers or hire exterminators; enforcement of nuisance conditions falls to your city or township.
Subject to appropriations therefor, the Environmental Health Unit of the Division of Public Health is authorized to establish and conduct a coordinated rodent control education program with the several municipalities of Wayne County and in conjunction with similar programs in the five surrounding counties. The Division is further authorized to apply for and accept federal, state, and private grants and to enter into cooperative agreements to establish joint and concerted programs to prevent and contain the growth of rodent populations within the urbanized areas of the County.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
Wayne County Code Chapter 156, the Environmental Health Education Program, authorizes the Division of Public Health's Environmental Health Unit to run a coordinated rodent-control education program with the county's municipalities and the five surrounding counties, and to apply for grants funding it (Sec. 156-2, Ord. No. 99-537, adopted 1999). The chapter's own findings blame rising rat populations on household garbage kept in plastic bags instead of rat-proof containers. But the ordinance stops at authorizing outreach and cooperative agreements: it sets no property-maintenance standard, permit, or fine for residents, so day-to-day nuisance enforcement runs through your city or township code.
Violations & Fines
None. Chapter 156 creates no offense or fine for residents; it only funds county-municipal rodent-education outreach. A rat-harborage nuisance is enforced under your city or township's own property maintenance code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Wayne County require rat-proof trash containers?
Who enforces rat infestations in Wayne County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wayne County
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