Summit Hill Borough Council agreed Tuesday to combat a rodent problem in sections of the borough with a new ordinance.

The ordinance, expected to be adopted at next month’s meeting, bans the disposal of garbage, dead animals and other forms of refuse on any lot - public or private - or in any building in which it might attract flies or other vectors and create a public health threat.

It also prohibits the accumulation of lumber, boxes, scrap iron broken plaster or rubbish of any kind unless kept in approved covered receptacles or stored in a way approved by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Maintaining a junk yard or disassembling vehicles and machinery, or storing abandoned vehicles, will be prohibited.

Refuse will be required to be stored in “Plastic bags and containers which shall be made of durable, watertight, rust resistant material having a tight-fitting lid which must be kept on the container when in use.”

Violators can be fined $600 plus costs, or jailed up to 30 days, for every day a violation occurs.

The ordinance states that a vector control officer must be hired.

Council agreed to pass the ordinance after several residents attended last month’s meeting and complained about rodent problems in a few areas of the borough, especially in the unit block of East Ludlow Street.

Council member David Wargo said last month there is no ordinance that requires anyone to deal with pests such as skunks and rats.

Among those who said they were impacted by the rodent problem was Barbara Boyd, who lives next to one of the eight deteriorated buildings in the block.

Boyd told the council about seeing rats in her kitchen, living room and laundry room even though she was doing all she can to maintain a clean house.

She attended Tuesday’s council meeting and said she has hired an exterminator, who told her that her block “is highly infested with rats.”

She said the owner of one property, which besides being vacant, has a pile of tires that attracts skunks, has not been around lately.

Boyd also praised council President Michael Kokinda for having the borough’s engineer stop by her residence and evaluate the problem firsthand.

She said the inspector told her his hands are tied because he can’t enter the vacant buildings without the consent of the owners.

The exterminator reportedly recommended to Boyd that once the situation is resolved that exterminator visits should occur every six to 12 months.

The proposed ordinance states that once adopted, “this borough and/or a representative of the vector control program is empowered to make inspections of the interior and exterior of all dwellings, buildings, structure and accessory structures premises, collections of water, or any other places to determine full compliance.”