What Types of Animals Can Swim Into Your Toilet, and How to Stop It From Happening

Crossing paths with horrifying uninvited guests, such as rats or snakes, is bad enough on its own, which is a sentiment we can all likely get behind. However, the situation sometimes turns into a real-life horror movie when this happens in your own toilet.

Here at Bright Side, we want you to be certain that such misfortune will never become a part of your life, which is why we’ve prepared some information about the types of animals that can pop out of your toilet, and more importantly, how to prevent it.

1. Snakes

One morning, an Australian woman was bitten by a snake that had been hiding in her toilet. Fortunately, it was not venomous. We might be used to hearing stories connected to snakes in Australia, but this can happen in other countries as well, like in the US or Thailand, for instance. Snakes can get into your bathroom through the sewer pipes (as most of them are good swimmers) or ventilation pipes, and in this case, the snake just chooses the toilet as a place to rest.

2. Rats

Rats, unfortunately, are also among creatures that can show up in your toilet one day. They’re good swimmers as well, and you can see how easily they can go through sewer pipes on some YouTube videos. Even though these instances are rare, it’s still possible when the animal is searching for food.

3. Frogs

These slimy little creatures can also visit your bathroom without permission. Last year, a mass toilet invasion happened in the UK, and it was explained by frogspawn that was laid in the sewage system. Also, sometimes frogs are believed to get into houses through vent pipes.

4. Possums

Even though encountering a possum that has just emerged from a toilet is far from typical, the possibility cannot be ruled out completely. For example, in 2016, a baby possum was found in a toilet in San Diego before it was rescued by the Department of Animal Services. The owner of the house figured that the marsupial got into the house through a broken window though, not the pipes.

Finally, how can we prevent such invasions?

If you find yourself in this situation, do not panic. It’s best to simply close the toilet lid and put something heavy on top of it (like a couple of books) to prevent the intruder’s escape. You can also close the door and put something under the door crack. Once these protective measures are taken, it’s a good idea to call an exterminator to handle the present situation and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

As for preventive measures, you can install a one-way flap that will ensure that after the flush, nothing can come back into (or climb up to) the toilet.

What would you do in this situation? We’d love to read your opinions in the comments!