Rats! Los Angeles City Hall fights a rodent infestation

Los Angeles City Hall, located in the city center, was allegedly invaded by rodents

Los Angeles officials tear carpets, set traps and smoke as they fight a rat infestation at City Hall that, according to a lawyer, left her to fight typhus.

The historic building, located in the city center, was allegedly invaded by rodents after the destruction of a nearby structure last year.

City council members and staff say rats have a busy day in the 91-year-old building, nest in potted plants, gnaw carpets and leave multi-storey droppings.

Elizabeth Greenwood, a city lawyer, thinks she contracted typhus last November after working in a building connected to City Hall.

"It was terrifying, I thought I was going to die and I could not understand what was wrong with me," she told the local CBS radio station.

The rat problem got so much worse that city council chair Herb Wesson this week tabled a motion calling for an investigation into "the extent of vermin and pest problems" in the building and adjacent structures.

City Council and Los Angeles staff say rats have a busy day at the 91-year-old town hall, nesting in potted plants, gnawing carpets and leaving feces on several floors.

"Employees should not have to come to work worried about rodents," Wesson told the Los Angeles Times. "I have the intention to do everything we need" to solve the problem.

He added that the problem of vermin and fleas in the carpets of his office located on the fourth floor was so aggravated that he had removed his staff from the art-deco building during the end-of-holidays. Year and had ripped off all the carpets.

He is now asking the city to consider removing all carpets from the 27-storey building, a popular filming location used in many films, including "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential".

Asked by AFP, the Los Angeles Mayor's office said he was concerned about the problem of rodents and was trying to eradicate the critters.

"We are working with our General Service Department to do all we need to do to ensure that this does not continue to be a problem," said spokesman Alex Comisar.

"They set traps, fill borrowers, treat tree wells, go to all the places where these rodents tend to find shelter and do everything they can to eradicate the problem.

"We see this as a problem that can be solved very quickly in the immediate future."