LA city hall’s rats: officials consider removing rugs to curb infestation
- President of city council takes drastic measures after staff raised concerns about noises in the ceiling and suspicious paw prints on the floor
The first clue Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson had that rats were invading City Hall, possibly carrying a potentially deadly disease, was the pitter-patter of little feet.
“We had an employee or two mention they heard something in the ceiling,” Wesson said on Thursday as he led a tour through his office, where he recently had all the rugs ripped out. “Then we had an employee spot what she believed to be paw prints.”
After a flea hidden in a rug pounced on one of his employees late last year, Wesson had enough: He shut down the office and had all the rugs removed.
Now, after learning that an employee in another City Hall office became infected with typhus around the same time, he has asked the city’s staff to examine how much it would cost to remove all the rugs in the 91-year-old building and its City Hall East annex.
“When you go to work the only thing you should be concerned about is getting to work on time,” Wesson said. He wants both rug removal and better forms of vermin control. “You shouldn’t be worried about coming to work and catching some virus.”
