Gray rats are well-known synanthropic species that choose the most favorable conditions for their habitat. They prefer to build nests in warm places with sufficient food supply. These are unpleasant creatures that cause disgust in humans; they are especially dangerous because they carry more than 20 pathogens of various diseases. Infections transmitted by rats can lead to death or serious complications. Therefore, the appearance and reproduction of rodents should not be allowed. If at least one individual is detected in a residential area, you should immediately begin to destroy the uninvited guests.
The rat's tenacious paws, intelligence, ability to swim and the ability to stay under water for a long time allow it to move along walls, ventilation shafts, garbage chutes, pipes and sewer systems. Knowing this, people have concerns: “Can a rat get out of the toilet?” For some this may seem like a scary story, but such cases do occur. Residents of the lower floors, where it is easiest for a rodent to reach, are at greatest risk. There are known situations where rats climbed up the sewer system to the fifth floor.
The likelihood of rats coming through the toilet increases if the following factors are present:
- A large number of rodents in the basement.
Rats are characterized by high fertility, survival rate and resistance to adverse external factors. If there is not enough food for animals in their previous territory, they go to other places in search of a new food supply. This situation can be prevented by periodically treating the basement, garbage chute, and nearby landfills with chemicals. - Low temperature in technical rooms and outside.
Researchers have noticed a tendency that the number of gray rats in residential buildings increases with the onset of cold weather. Rodents try to occupy places with favorable external conditions. And this despite the fact that gray pests adapt quite easily to temperature changes. - Partial deratization.
If the nearest landfills, garbage chute and basement where the rats lived were treated with pesticides, rodents in search of salvation can move into apartments through ventilation and sewer pipes.
Gray rodents can go without air for a long time; for them, walking a few meters through a pipe is not particularly difficult. The structure of the legs allows you to use any unevenness on the walls as a support. Most pipes in homes are worn out and their inner surfaces are covered with dirt. These are ideal conditions for rats to move easily through the sewer.
How do rats get into the toilet?
Rodents love to live in warm places where there is safety and plenty of food. In houses, such a place is the basement. When the living conditions of a rat family worsen, they look for a new home.
The following factors cause the migration of rats:
- Deratization or extermination of rodents by specialized services. Rat poisons force animals to leave their homes en masse. Pests flee from chemicals and enter the apartment through the toilet.
- Overpopulation. Animals fight for territory and food. Males fight for the favor of the female. Rats that have been expelled from the pack begin to look for a new place to live.
- The onset of cold weather. Gray rats or pasyuki do not like to live in the cold. With the onset of the first cold weather, they begin to look for a warm shelter and move closer to humans.
Animals prefer to move on land. When it comes to survival, the rat begins to explore the water.
On a note!
The animal found in the bathroom is a scout. He came through the pipeline to find out how safe and comfortable it was in this apartment. It is necessary to destroy the invader, otherwise he will bring the flock with him.
The animal has tenacious paws and sharp claws. The rodent easily runs along walls and trees. The surface of sewer pipes is also not smooth. It is rough and has irregularities that are easy for tiny claws to grab onto.
The pipe itself is wide enough, which allows adults to move freely along it. The animal will not squeeze through other pipes. He won't be able to get out of the gas water heater either. But the toilet has a fairly wide opening. Therefore, the appearance of a rat in the toilet is not a fairy tale.
People whose pipes have not been repaired for a long time, and whose basement has not been looked into for a long time by service, risk meeting an unpleasant guest at the most inopportune moment.
What to do
Rat in the toilet
If you see rats in the toilet, you need to remain calm. Animals driven into a corner and tired from a long swim can behave aggressively. You cannot shout, wave your arms, or try to fight the invaders on the spot with whatever comes to hand. The action plan should look like this:
- Close the toilet lid quickly and carefully. Try to do this so that the animal does not notice you.
- Place any heavy object on top. The sewer rat is a dangerous opponent. She is able to jump high and has strong legs. Therefore, the toilet lid must be pressed down.
- Pour bleach or gasoline into the toilet. The substance will cause the pest to escape or lead to its death. This method cannot be called humane, but it allows you to get rid of the rodent with a 100% guarantee.
- Take a photo of the rat in the toilet. When the apartment is relatively safe, you will need to contact the services. Not everyone takes his word for it. In this case, a photograph taken will be useful.
If the rat has already crawled out of the toilet and managed to escape, it is necessary to spread the poison around the apartment.
On a note!
Animals may be immune to some chemicals. Before purchasing rat poison, you should consult with experts.
Sticky traps should be placed in the toilet. They will come in handy if more rats come out of the sewer. The animal will stick to the rat glue and will not be able to walk.
Sewer Rats: Myth or Reality
Rodents such as rats get into the house in different ways. It is known that rats thrive in ventilation and sewer systems. In this regard, many people have a completely reasonable question: can rats get into a house or apartment through the toilet? Are rats in the sewer a myth or reality? Now let's figure it out...
Is it possible for rats to appear from the sewer in the house through the toilet?
The worst thing is that the appearance of rodents from the toilet is not a myth, but a terrible reality. Typically, this unpleasant problem is faced by residents of the lower floors, although there are cases where rats appeared from toilets on the fifth floor and above.
This is due to the fact that rats (both gray and black) are quite smart creatures. They understand that pipes are a fairly convenient way to a person’s home. And in this dwelling, warmth and food await them, so it is vital to strive there.
Rats can move through sewers because they have the ability to swim and hold their breath for a long time (these rodents can swim a distance of ten meters underwater), in addition, rats have a special structure of their paws. They move perfectly along vertical surfaces, clinging to small potholes and cracks.
What can cause rats to appear in the toilet?
In a favorable environment, these rodents reproduce very quickly. In city conditions, rats feel best in basements or garbage dumps near apartment buildings. It's warm, humid and there's plenty of food. They are forced to enter apartments through the sewer system:
- overpopulation (when the population reaches its maximum size, rats begin to look for new, more convenient places);
- a decrease in temperature (in winter, rats actively migrate from basements to apartments and entrances, as they try to find more comfortable conditions for their numerous offspring);
- carrying out disinfection and deratization (it is during mass extermination that rodents begin to move into entrances and apartments, where they feel relatively safe).
Thanks to their intelligence and excellent sense of smell, rats quickly find their way to a person’s home. They can chew their way through, as they have powerful, sharp front incisors. But, if the apartment has been renovated and all possible routes of entry have been cut off, the rat decides to invade through the sewer. They get into it directly from basements, or by gnawing a hole in a sewer pipe between floors (even fairly durable cast iron wears out and rusts, and this is exactly what the rat takes advantage of, choosing weak spots in pipes, and modern plastic and corrugation are not a problem for them at all ).
So why does a rat appear in the toilet? Yes, because she is looking for a more comfortable living environment and is ready to do anything for it. In the next part of the article we will look at how to get rid of a rat in the toilet? Everything is quite simple if you follow certain tips.
Effective ways to prevent rats from appearing in the toilet
If you don’t want to face such a non-standard problem as the appearance of a rat in the toilet, then you should resort to the following methods to solve it (do not try to wash the rat off with water, it will not drown, but will float in clean water, clinging to any unevenness and roughness; do not scream and do not panic, rats are excellent jumpers; when frightened, they can rush at a person; cases of bites and scratches on the face and neck after such jumps have been repeatedly recorded).
Step-by-step instructions (if there is a suspicion of a rat entering through the sewer):
- be sure to lower the toilet lid (a rat will not be able to get out through a closed toilet; remember, rats are smart and strong animals, so to achieve the greatest effect, leave some heavy object on the lid);
- install a high-quality ultrasonic repeller in the restroom (it will prevent rodents from entering the apartment);
- attach several special adhesive traps near the toilet (they will help detain the rodent, if it does get into the apartment, until you arrive);
- you can pour bleach or gasoline into the toilet (the animal will either go down or die; yes, this is not very humane);
- you can use a special bait - flour mixed with gypsum (you must place a saucer of water nearby; the rat usually drinks after eating; this will cause the gypsum to swell in its stomach and it will die);
- you need to call a plumber who will check the pipes for rat passages (look for a specialist who has already encountered similar problems, he will be able to suggest several technological solutions that will forever rid the apartment of the invasion of rodents through the sewer).
Remember that rats have a well-developed information network, so the first rodent in the toilet is a scout. Others will definitely come after him!
Which organizations should you contact after an incident?
After the incident you must contact
- Housing office (there may not respond to the message, then it is worth threatening to contact the SES or Rospotrebnadzor; remember that housing facilities receive funds for deratization of basements and if they do not comply with sanitary rules, then higher organizations will punish them);
- SES (SES specialists will tell you what products need to be used to treat the premises or give the address of companies specializing in disinfecting houses).
Where to contact
If a pest is found in the toilet, then its relatives live in the house. Time will pass and another curious face will appear in the toilet.
On a note!
If a rat reveals its presence when you go to relieve yourself, it will attack and inflict painful bites.
After discovering the enemy, you need to call a plumber. The specialist who arrives on call will check the sewer pipes for the presence of rat passages. It is worth contacting someone who has already encountered similar problems. He will suggest methods for controlling pests in the toilet.
Special services should be notified about the appearance of a rat in sewer pipes:
- Housing office, which is obliged to carry out deratization;
- Rospotrebnadzor, if the previous authority did not respond;
- SES, whose specialists will give coordinates to a specialized company.
It is better to act together with other residents of the house. It may turn out that a similar problem affects several apartments. Then the services will respond faster.
Prevention measures
If rat feces are noticed in the home, this is the first thing that should alert a person. When an individual has been identified and destroyed, prevention and treatment of all things in the house or apartment must be mandatory.
If a rat dies while climbing into a hard-to-reach place, after a while the household will be disturbed by the disgusting smell that appears. And in this case, a person needs to find the source of the smell and get rid of it
It is important to remember that you only need to work with gloves and a respirator. If a rat is found, the place where it was is treated with potassium permanganate
When the cause of the unpleasant odor has been eliminated, the home is disinfected. First of all, all things are washed. Furniture items are treated with a solution of vinegar, and floors are washed with a solution of potassium permanganate. If there are carpets, they must be dry cleaned. The apartment must be ventilated at least 2 times a day.
In the future, it is necessary to keep the house clean in order to avoid the reappearance of these individuals. Absolutely all products must be stored in a specially designated place; old and unnecessary things should not be stored in the apartment. And the last rule is to regularly ventilate the room, ensuring access to fresh air. If you follow these simple measures, you won't have to worry about a rat infestation. If you do not follow these rules, then rodents will continue to appear in your apartment or house.
Fight on your own
Extermination of rats
You should not rely on the mercy of government agencies. You should join the fight yourself. After all, the called specialists are not always able to help fully.
The most effective way to get rid of rats in the sewer at home is to prepare bait:
- Take flour and gypsum in a 2:1 ratio. Add fragrant sunflower oil to the mixture.
- Pour the bait into a shallow plate and place a bowl of water next to it.
- The rat, having tasted the treat, will want to quench its thirst. The mixture in the animal's stomach will harden and lead to its death.
Modern technologies can help in the fight. Manufacturers of ultrasonic repellers claim that their products cause rats and mice to escape. The waves emitted by the device are safe for humans, and prevent small pests from living and reproducing normally. After using ultrasonic rat repellers, rodents take flight and never return to a dangerous place.
The answer to the question, can a rat get out of a toilet, is yes. Most often, residents of the first floors face this problem. But there were cases when rodents crawled out of the toilet on the fifth floor. To avoid these problems, you need to have knowledge of how to get rats out of the basement using folk remedies. If you are affected by the problem, act immediately: contact the housing office, call a plumber and place chemicals in secluded places.
Actions upon detection
When you see a rat in the toilet, the main thing is not to panic. It is forbidden:
- scream;
- to wave hands;
- try to defeat the tailed visitor with anything that comes to hand.
The rodent is likely to be aggressive. Therefore, to avoid bites, you must follow a certain procedure:
- Close the toilet lid carefully but quickly.
- Press down the lid with something heavy. The rat has strong paws and good jumping ability, so you need to deprive it of the opportunity to lift the lid so that the little animal does not crawl out of the toilet.
- Carefully pour gasoline, bleach, or just boiling water into the toilet. Or you can add bleach. As a result, the rodent will either escape or die. The methods are inhumane, but 100% effective.
- Take a photo of the uninvited “guest”. The secret services do not always take their word for it.
There is no way to flush a live rat back down the drain. The animal will resist and cling with its paws, so it will remain in the toilet.
If a pest escapes from the toilet and enters your home, you need to place poison and sticky traps throughout the house. They should also be in the toilet room, in case his relatives follow the scout through the sewers.
