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Insect/Vermin Complaints
Insect/vermin complaints typically involve concerns about vermin such as rats, mice, and cockroaches. These species commonly inhabit human dwellings, and are potential carriers of human diseases. Rats and mice are natural inhabitants of the countryside, and are not ordinarily considered a health nuisance as long as they remain in the outdoor environment. The Health District cannot control animals in the outdoor environment, but does regulate the storage and disposal of garbage, which can attract rats, and other vermin.
Vermin that inhabit dwellings are a health nuisance, and the Health District can order owners of rental property to control vermin within a dwelling. In apartment buildings, control measures should be applied throughout the building in order to achieve effective control. In the case of a cockroach infestation, if only a single unit in an apartment building is treated with pesticides, then the cockroaches will be driven to other parts of the building. Holes and cracks in floors, walls, ceilings, and around pipes should be sealed to prevent cockroaches from migrating from one part of a building to another.
The treatment of cockroach infestations is best left to a professional exterminator. The indiscriminate use of pesticides can create an environmental hazard, or a health hazard, and can cause pests to develop a resistance to pesticides.
The continued presence of vermin in the home may be due to poor hygiene, or poor housekeeping. If poor hygiene or poor housekeeping exists, then control measures will be ineffective if hygiene and housekeeping practices are not improved. Maintaining good hygiene, and good housekeeping are the responsibility of the occupants.
See Vector-borne Disease Control for more information.