Bill Summary
SB26-062 prohibits the sale, distribution, and offering for sale (including online) of several categories of rodent control products in Colorado, and it generally prohibits their use. The bill then creates a narrow pathway for restricted and limited use by licensed professionals only during a declared public health emergency and only under strict conditions.
- Bans selling, distributing, or offering for sale in Colorado (including online): second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, nonanticoagulant rodenticides (bromethalin and zinc phosphide), and rodent glue traps.
- Prohibits use of the listed rodenticides in the state, with limited exceptions after rules are adopted.
- Directs the Colorado Department of Agriculture to adopt rules by January 1, 2027 classifying the listed rodenticides as restricted-use and limited-use pesticides.
- Allows limited indoor use at a single location only by licensed applicators and only to respond to a public health emergency as determined by CDPHE or a county or district board of public health.
- Requires integrated pest management first, plus documented evidence of an active infestation using electronic monitoring or other verifiable methods.
- Adds posting, recordkeeping, time limits (up to 42 consecutive days), and a 60-day waiting period before any subsequent authorization at the same indoor location.
Position: Oppose
This bill is a statewide ban dressed up as “limited use.” It takes tools away first, then tells the people living with the problem to go ask permission later. That is backwards.
I support protecting kids, pets, and wildlife. But Colorado can do safety without top-down mandates that land hardest on rural communities and the people who have to keep buildings, feed storage, and operations sanitary.
Why I Am Taking This Position
Principle matters: we should solve real problems without one-size-fits-all bans that expand state control and shrink practical options for property owners and professionals.
First, SB26-062 prohibits sales across broad categories and then limits use to a very narrow exception tied to a declared public health emergency. Rodent pressure is not a theoretical issue for many operations. When the state makes control slower and harder, the costs show up in damaged property, contaminated feed, and disrupted operations.
Second, the exception is loaded with process that can turn into delay in real life. The bill limits use to indoor, single-location work, bars routine preventive or maintenance baiting, and requires electronic monitoring, a written rationale, and extensive documentation. It also requires the property owner to post a sign visible from a public right-of-way stating “RODENTICIDES IN USE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.” That might read well in a committee room, but on the ground it becomes a compliance trap and a public billboard that invites confusion and conflict. The rodents will not wait for paperwork.
Third, integrated pest management is not a bad concept. Many professionals already prioritize exclusion, sanitation, and trapping. The problem is turning a best practice into a mandate with an “invalidation” hammer. The bill states that failing to implement and maintain certain exclusion and sanitation measures invalidates the exemption. That creates uncertainty for property owners and licensed operators trying to fix a problem, not build a paper file.
Fourth, this structure centralizes control while local communities live with the consequences. The bill depends on emergency determinations by CDPHE or local public health boards, which can pull counties into a gatekeeper role for basic rodent control tools.
Bottom line: we can protect public health without banning first and governing later. Good policy targets the problem and respects local realities. This bill does not.
Call to Action – What You Should Do!
Contact your state senator and state representative and ask them to vote no on SB26-062.
Also contact the sponsors and ask them to go back to the table with a targeted approach that protects kids and pets without a blanket ban and an emergency-only permission slip.
