How Rats Can Enter Your Home Through Your Toilet

A Bathroom Surprise

While it may sound super far-fetched, rats are found in toilets a handful of times each year in the Washington DC area. This squeaky surprise is less than welcomed and even more upsetting than finding the toilet was not flushed by its last user. But how can this even happen?!

Natural Acrobats

Physically, rats are built to be incredibly acrobatic. Their sharp claws allow them to scale brick, cement, and even metallic surfaces, allowing them access to all types of buildings and structures. These little acrobats have the incredible ability to squeeze through holes as small as the size of a quarter due to their hinged ribs. This unique ability allows their skeleton to collapse similar to the way an umbrella does, so anywhere a rat’s head fits, their bodies will fit as well. Furthermore, their balance is incredible, and they also have the ability to jump a significant distance in proportion to their size both horizontally and vertically. In fact, from a standing position on the ground, rats can leap up to 2 feet in the air, while from a running start, they can reach up to 3 feet. All of these crazy cool agility perks certainly help them if they want to gain access to your toilet, but the true key to their success is their incredible aquatic abilities.

Surprisingly, rats are highly capable swimmers with the ability to tread water for up to 3 days straight! Their back legs paddle them forward while their front legs and tail help to steer them through the water. Rats can also hold their breaths for roughly three minutes when diving under the surface, allowing them to traverse through all different kinds of aquatic obstacles.

Breaking and Entering

There’s actually no breaking involved in this home invasion. City sewage systems are already a hub for rats and their aquatic proficiency allows them to explore entire systems of these drains and pipes. As our toilets are attached to sewage systems, the pipes that carry our flushes away provide an access point for these curious, nasty rodents. The pipes are relatively easy for a rat to navigate, but when it reaches the toilet itself, the real challenge begins.

At this point, the rat has been holding its breath for a significant amount of time, after squeezing into the water filled drainpipe, the rat reaches a small air pocket in which it can take a breath and begin to work its body to maneuver up and down the sharply turning pipe before entering the bottom of the toilet bowl and swimming to the surface. From there, a rat can leap from the bowl and out of an open toilet into your home.

Nasty, right?! Well, no need to fear when Green Pest Services has got your back. If you find yourself in the unlucky position of finding a rat in your toilet, call us right away.

Citations

Engelhaupt, E. (2018) Yes, Rats Can Swim Up Your Toilet. And It Gets Worse Than That, National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2015/08/14/yes-rats-can-swim-up-your-toilet-and-it-gets-worse-than-that/ (Accessed: December 10, 2020).

Winer, J. (2015) See How Easily a Rat Can Wriggle Up Your Toilet, YouTube. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t2VPBF6Kp4 (Accessed: December 2020).