LA City Council Gets Earful About Flea, Rodent Problem

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The full scope of the flea and rodent problem inside City Hall is still unclear amid a downtown outbreak of flea-borne typhus, but experts should have an accurate picture by next week, the Los Angeles City Council was told Friday.

Staff from the General Services Department, the Personnel Department and others gave verbal updates to the council on actions taken since last Friday, when the council approved a motion seeking options on combating the problem of rodents and fleas in the building, which may include removing all of the carpets.

Department representatives told the council a vendor is still in the process of inspecting every floor of City Hall and City Hall East as it prepares a full report to identify where the flea and rodent problems are.

Staff also said cleanup efforts around the exterior of the building have increased and work is being done to identify rodent entry points and have them sealed.

Last week, City Council President Herb Wesson said the city will do "anything and everything to eradicate the rats."

The problem was so bad inside of Wesson's office that he took out all of the carpet and removed every single plant.

Nearly everywhere you look in City Hall are rat traps and flea traps.

Experts have told the City Council it's not just the rats but the fleas that come with the rats that carry typhus. When they bite people, they spread typhus.

One city attorney caught typhus after she said she was bitten in her office at City Hall East by a flea.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)