From the manager’s desk at J&J Pest Control
I get this one a lot, and it’s almost always right after somebody has had a really bad morning.
“There’s no way a rat came up through my pipes, right?”
I hate to be the one to break it, but yes, they can, and yes, they do.
Take a look at the photo. That’s a rat that made its way up a drain line and popped out behind a washing machine hookup. No open door. No hole in the roof. No gap in the garage. It came straight up through the plumbing and into the house.
Here’s why it happens. Rats are strong swimmers, and they can hold their breath for a few minutes at a time. Their bodies squeeze through openings not much bigger than a quarter, and your sewer and drain lines give them a warm, hidden highway that runs right into your home. A dried-out floor drain, an uncapped line, or an older pipe with a gap is all the invitation they need. Once they’re in the system, they follow it until they find a way out, and every so often that way out is inside your walls.
The good news (because I always want to end on good news): this is preventable, and it’s fixable.
Keeping seldom-used drains capped or filled, running water in floor drains so the traps don’t dry out, and having your lines checked for gaps go a long way. And if one does find its way in, that’s exactly what we’re here for. We’ll track down how it got in, seal it up, and make sure it stays a one-time story you get to tell at dinner instead of a regular houseguest.
So who says a rat can’t come up a drain line? Nobody who’s seen what we’ve seen. If something’s got you wondering about your own place, give us a call. We’d much rather take a look now than meet the rat later.
Your friends at J&J Pest Control, Austin, TX
