Maryland Adult Detention Center Standards, COMAR 12.14.03.05: Quarterly Vermin and Pest Control Services

Citation

Code of Maryland Regulations, Title 12, Subtitle 14 (Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards), Chapter 03 (Minimum Standards for Adult Detention Centers), Regulation .05, §A(3)(b). Read on regs.maryland.gov, current as of September 23, 2026, on September 26, 2026. Regulation .05 was repealed and readopted effective November 18, 2019 (46:23 Md. R. 1066). The site notes that the printed COMAR is the official text.

What It Says (Verbatim)

COMAR 12.14.03.05A (lead-in):

“A. The managing official of a correctional facility shall have a written policy and procedure:”

§A(2), weekly sanitation inspections:

“(2) Requiring weekly sanitation inspections of internal and external facility areas;”

§A(3), housekeeping (excerpt):

“(3) Governing facility housekeeping, which includes provisions for: (a) Specific description of staff and inmate duties and responsibilities; (b) Quarterly vermin and pest control services; (c) Weekly trash removal;”

Commission audit worksheet (rev. 4/2020), the evidence an auditor looks for:

“(2) Quarterly vermin/pest control - See contract with licensed exterminator. See records of provisions; general observation”

What It Means in Plain Language

1. Quarterly, in the regulation. The housekeeping policy must provide for vermin and pest control services every quarter.
2. The licensed exterminator is in the audit. The regulation names no provider. The Commission’s audit worksheet checks for a contract with a licensed exterminator and records of the services.
3. Weekly sanitation inspections of internal and external areas.
4. Audited at least every three years, announced, by Commission audit teams (COMAR 12.14.01.02C).

Who It Applies To

Adult detention centers, meaning State or local facilities for detention pending adjudication and confinement of sentenced inmates, other than Division of Correction facilities and Patuxent Institution. The minimum mandatory standards apply to all State and local correctional facilities (Corr. Servs. § 8-103(a)(2)).

Md. Code Ann., Corr. Servs. § 8-103(a)(2):

“(2) The minimum mandatory standards adopted under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall apply to all State and local correctional facilities.”

Documentation Evidence

• The written housekeeping policy providing for quarterly services
• The contract with a licensed exterminator
• Service records for each quarter
• Weekly sanitation inspection records
• The Commission’s most recent audit

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence in the text. Read on regs.maryland.gov, which Maryland’s Division of State Documents names as COMAR’s official online home while stating the printed COMAR is the official text. The audit worksheet is Commission guidance, not regulation. State prisons fall under COMAR 12.14.04, not reviewed here.