Had I a rat in my waste pipe?

Comer1 · 03-04-2021 4:48pm #1

I can't tell this to my wife as she'd freak out and never use the loo again, but I really need to share this story. This morning I heard scratching noises from the waste pipe from the toilet. Its a vertical pipe as can be seen in the attachment. We have our own septic tank about 100 feet from the house.

I thought nothing of it reasoning that it was water flowing from another toilet in the house. But it continued and when I listened closely, it sounded like animal claws on the inside of the pipe. I flushed, and after ten seconds of silence, it started again. A few more flushes and it still returned. Eventually I put tissue in the toilet, and simultaneously poured a full basin of water into it while flushing a few times. That finished it. I then ran my sewer rods down the pipe from the manhole just outside the house to the septic tank.

Do you think I had a rat in there? Gives me the creeps thinking about it.

greasepalm · 03-04-2021 4:59pm

Very possible as its an ongoing thing as they get everywhere and chew through anything

LenWoods · 03-04-2021 5:03pm

Hi,
It is very possible, I live in a town and had my down stairs toilet removed for tiling,
I fitted a rubber cap on the waste pipe and a week later found the rubber cap was eaten in to shreds and trails of sewage around the floor,
Was indeed a sewer rat,
Lucky for you though; you have a septic tank,
You can fit a non return flap to the drain system which prevents anything traveling back upwards,
Perhaps lay down some rat poison; trick with that is to keep putting it in the same place for 2-3 weeks
Let them take it away; keep placing more then after two or three weeks stop for three weeks,
This way the rats stock pile the nest, then will eat what they stashed resulting in a nest of body's rather than body's everywhere.

LenWoods · 03-04-2021 5:05pm

There not supposed to be capable of coming through the "S" bend of the toilet,

LenWoods · 03-04-2021 5:07pm

https://owlpestcontrol.ie/pest-control-products/mice-rat-products/ratflap-rat-drain-blocker/?gclid=CjwKCAjwpKCDBhBPEiwAFgBzj0rAUiDTs7w_nbTh5UQeMLrzO-VOWv8TpfVmr0QOuNoGNE3My-OwthoCp4wQAvD_BwE

greasepalm · 03-04-2021 5:12pm

Yes. Animal removal experts say a sewer rat can indeed come up through your toilet. Rats travel far and wide in narrow spaces such as sewers, pipes and vent stacks in search of food and shelter, and every so often this journey leads them into a toilet bowl.

To kill rats naturally, you can place these leaves in their holes. Onions Onions are another food you can use to kill rats naturally. All you need to do is to slice an onion, place it near their holes and wait for them to enjoy the feast. ... The smell of ammonia is very pungent that it instantly kills rats.

Comer1 · 03-04-2021 5:17pm

Could he have climbed up the inside of that vertical pipe at the back of the toilet, that's what it sounded like he was trying to do?

vandriver · 03-04-2021 5:23pm

LenWoods wrote: »

There not supposed to be capable of coming through the "S" bend of the toilet,

picture hosting

This(dead)monster rat I had to deal with in a tenants toilet begs to differ.

Cluedo Monopoly · 03-04-2021 5:42pm

I have seen incidences of rats in the pipe going to the septic tank. Check for holes along the pipe or sewer covers in footpaths. You need to block the access.

03-04-2021 5:43pm

Oh God, I am so sorry I clicked into this thread :eek::eek:

greasepalm · 03-04-2021 8:12pm

Others might look at it as a backside cleaning device:eek::eek::D

Treppen · 03-04-2021 8:27pm

I rescued a bird from a vent pipe outside when I heard almighty scratching near the ground (I lowered down a stick on a piece of twine and it grabbed on as I pulled it up!). So in theory it could go all the way down.