MHS Sees Improvement in Rat Infestation Issue

By Shivani Patel · Mon Nov 13 2017

In an email disseminated to Malibu High School parents, guardians and staff members, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati assured parents that “significant improvements” were made regarding the rat problem at the school.

In the past two weeks, these were some of the measures taken to eradicate the issue:

• Exclusion work (closing up access for pests)
• Added door sweeps, with more installed earlier this week
• Concrete trash cans replaced with rodent-proof trash cans
• Added custodial support in the mornings
• Additional cleaning in the music building/auditorium
• Bait boxes installed on rooftops and in construction areas
• A visit from a LA County Health Department inspector, who identified problematic areas. The school has since completed most of his suggestions.

According to the email, a total of 25 rats were caught between Oct. 23 and Nov. 6.

Drati also mentioned the MHS pool, which has been undergoing filtering for its total dissolved solids (TDS) levels. The process, started on Oct. 23, has seen around 1,000 parts per million drop since it first started with 20,000 ppm. At this rate, MHS “anticipate[s] a reduction of approximately 17,000 ppm, leaving the pool at a manageable level of 3,000 to 4,000 ppm.”