Many pests outside are eager to find a chance to enter your home. From small ants to big snakes, they can intrude through the tiniest holes or cracks in your house. That’s why sealing your home is crucial. Here are 7 creatures that can get into your toilet and how to stop them:
Mice and Rats
The first sign of mice or rats in your walls is hearing noises or small footsteps at night. They chew on electrical cords and insulation. Chewed food packages or droppings are also signs. If you see one dropping, there are likely more nearby.
What to do: Check for holes outside your home. Remove ivy on walls. Keep your home clean and trash properly disposed of.
Snakes
Snakes like cool, wet, and dark places, so toilet pipes can attract them. They are first drawn to sewers for food and then use pipes as an exit. Usually, harmless garden or tree snakes can fit through pipes. But larger snakes like anacondas have been found in toilets in South America and Australia. This mainly happens in warm countries.
Lizards
In the Southwest US, it’s common to find lizards coming through toilet pipes. They’re attracted by water and food like crickets and flies in dirty plumbing. The lizards that enter are usually small enough to fit through the pipes.
Spiders
Spiders can’t swim through pipes but can enter the bathroom through other ways. Only black widows crawl inside toilets and make webs. This usually occurs in outdoor toilets without plumbing, where there are many flies for them to eat. Check the toilet seat carefully before using an outhouse.
Opossums
Opossums enter houses by climbing. Check the exterior, including the roof, for entry points. They make loud noises and may scratch walls if trapped. They may eat your pet’s food outside. Their feces smell bad, indicating an infestation.
What to do: Regularly inspect your house. Fix gaps and holes. Cover vents with mesh. If they get in, call professionals.
Frogs
Frogs can enter your bathroom uninvited. In 2020, there was a mass toilet invasion in the UK because of frogspawn in the sewage system. They may also enter through vent pipes.
Bats
Bats are active at night. You may hear them in your walls before dusk if there’s a big infestation. They like cool attics and can also get into walls.
What to do: Use bright lights to deter them. If they’re already in your walls, get professional help.
Hygiene and Pest Prevention
- Toilet care: Keep your toilet clean with disinfecting cleaners, white wine vinegar, or baking soda. Use toilet fresheners. Install a one – way flap. Deter pests with a mixture of sugar, water, vinegar, and dish soap, or by pouring boiling water. If you can’t handle pest control, hire professionals and then pour cleaning – solution – mixed water down the drain regularly.
- Specific pests:
- Ants: Repel ants with cinnamon powder, and add essential oil for better effect.
- Cockroaches: Mix chopped onion with baking soda and place in corners.
- Drain flies: Clean and sanitize sinks with a mixture of baking soda, salt, and vinegar.
- Dust mites: Soak washable items in a mixture of eucalyptus oil, liquid laundry detergent, and water. Spray non – washable items. You can use tea tree oil instead.
- Weevils: Use bay leaves and cloves to keep weevils away from food.
- Ticks: Make a spray with essential oils and rubbing alcohol, and spray on clothes.