While it sounds like something from a nightmare, it’s an unfortunate reality that there are some creatures that can gain access to your home via your toilet. The warm, wet atmosphere of your bathroom might just be too hard for certain animals to resist! But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with them invading your home.
Whether it’s something large and bulky or something small and creepy, there are always things to be done to fight the critters that crawl in through your toilet. What’s always most important, though, is your own safety, so proceed with caution – and if you ever feel unsure, it’s probably best to reach out to a professional.
1. Spiders
While spiders don’t typically access your toilet through the pipes, they can lurk underneath your toilet seat lid and even build themselves an intricate web there. If you live in an area with dangerous spiders, it’s absolutely essential you check your toilet thoroughly before sitting down to avoid a mishap! Keeping your toilet clean can also make it less attractive to eight-legged inhabitants.
2. Lizards
If you live in an area with a large lizard population, it’s worth bearing in mind that they can easily find a way into your toilet. Many lizards love water and are small enough to squeeze in through your plumbing system. What typically attracts lizards into your toilet is other, smaller bugs, so again, keeping your toilet as clean as possible can seriously help reduce the risk.
3. Rats
Some plumbing systems are connected to a house’s garbage disposal, which can lead rats into your toilet bowl in the search for food scraps. If this is a concern of yours, you should stop throwing waste food into your garbage disposal and ensure it goes away with the trash, instead. This should prevent rats from wanting to explore your pipes, but if you’re still concerned, you can install a specialized rat guard.
4. Possums
Like rats, small possums are excellent swimmers, can hold their breath for long period, and are bendy enough to get around smaller pipes. Also like rats, keeping your pipes free of food scraps is key to dissuading possums from entering your plumbing system. To properly clean our your toilet’s pipes, mix equal parts of sugar, water, vinegar, and 5-10 drops of dish soap and flush it down your toilet. Boiling water can also be a good way to deep clean.
5. Snakes
Snakes are basically the perfect shape for fitting through long, thin pipes, and are fans of cool, dark, wet environments. While the majority of snakes that do appear in toilet bowls are relatively harmless, it’s likely not worth taking the risk of trying to remove them yourself. If you are unlucky enough to spy a snake in your toilet bowl, the safest move is to call pest control to have them deal with the problem. Once your toilet visitor is gone, you should again deep clean your pipes using the sugar, water, vinegar, and dish soap concoction to clear out any food residue in your pipes and ensure no more unwanted guests.
