# Emergency! There's a rat in my toilet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341 "2009-09-24T05:09:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/21 "2009-09-24T16:54:17Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, I can’t believe you flushed him. That’s mean, could clog your toilet (and the plumber would yell at you), is bad for the sewer system, and did I mention it’s really mean? sewer rats climb up from the drains. that is likely how it got there in the first place. they live in sewers, it’s not mean to have them go home. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/22 "2009-09-24T17:15:03Z")
My home is my home, and any intruder into my home, especially potentiall disease carrying vermin, do not get sympathetic treatment. Take him outside? You mean where he might find his way back in? Nope. Flushing sounds about as humane as I am going to get, other options are going to be much worse. It’s a RAT, people. Rats are vermin. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/23 "2009-09-24T17:20:20Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > don’t try guns (even BB, people shatter their toilet). I can’t believe you even have to advise people not to shoot their toilet. Is this one of those “Only in America” things? :smack: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/24 "2009-09-24T17:20:54Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > sewer rats climb up from the drains. that is likely how it got there in the first place. they live in sewers, it’s not mean to have them go home. It’s mean to drown it. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/25 "2009-09-24T17:54:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > It’s mean to drown it. I’m quite sure I didn’t drown him. It’s only a short distance to the sewer he came in from. And with the added lubrication of the dish soap he certainly went back a lot faster than he came in. Probably even enjoyed the ride. Well, I had my morning sitdown with great trepidation today. No more magazines for me. From now on it’s Sit, Poop, Wipe, Get up, Close lid. Flush. Damn rat. Ruined one of the few pleasures I have left in life. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/26 "2009-09-24T17:54:58Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > It’s mean to drown it. Except it probably wouldn’t drown. The drain pipe is actually mostly full of air. That and the rat is a damn good swimmer. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/27 "2009-09-24T17:59:49Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, I can’t believe you flushed him. That’s mean, could clog your toilet (and the plumber would yell at you), is bad for the sewer system, and did I mention it’s really mean? > [@johnpost](#): > > sewer rats climb up from the drains. that is likely how it got there in the first place. they live in sewers, it’s not mean to have them go home. > [@Zsofia](#): > > It’s mean to drown it. it won’t drown if it goes back down the sewer. there is only total water in traps and low spots which it swims underwater through. otherwise sewer pipes have air in them. if you held it under water in the bowl it would drown. if you flushed it then it goes home. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/28 "2009-09-24T18:04:49Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Well, I had my morning sitdown with great trepidation today. No more magazines for me. From now on it’s Sit, Poop, Wipe, Get up, Close lid. Flush. > > Damn rat. Ruined one of the few pleasures I have left in life. :mad: better for you to not linger (though there was the recent thread on reading material). with the common low toilet seat it puts extra pressure on your sphincter and i’ve heard claims that is not good to prolong it. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/29 "2009-09-24T18:11:54Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > It’s mean to drown it. As opposed to killing it any other way? I strongly suspect that drowning is more humane than shooting or getting it with a snap trap, anyway. Rats are on the same level as cockroaches, in my mind, with the disadvantage that you can’t stomp on a rat. There is no reason to let one live (obviously exclusing people’s pet rat). They carry disease and don’t offer any compensating benefit. I once read a book (I thought by Farley Mowat but now I can’t find anything that sounds right) called something like “animals nobody likes” and it talked about all sorts of critters that people hate / fear, and for each one it also talked about why a) you shouldn’t hate/fear them, and b) why they were actually pretty good to have around. Except for the chapter on rats. Those had no redeeming characteristics. Me, the only reason I’d see to not flush the damn thing would be fear it’d get stuck and clog the pipes. BLECH! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/30 "2009-09-24T18:15:38Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I can’t believe you even have to advise people not to shoot their toilet. Is this one of those “Only in America” things? :smack: > 😛 If I found a rat in my toilet, I would be strongly tempted to try nuking it from orbit. If I had guns in the house (which I don’t), and thought the rat could be killed that way, I could see myself running for one of them. If there is a rat in my house, I’m going to try to find a way to deal with it that doesn’t involve touching the rat (ewww). Especially if it’s alive and might bite or scratch. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/31 "2009-09-24T18:29:06Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > don’t try guns (even BB, people shatter their toilet) > [@Colophon](#): > > I can’t believe you even have to advise people not to shoot their toilet. Is this one of those “Only in America” things? :smack: > 😛 i recall hearing people have done it which caused the mention. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/32 "2009-09-24T18:33:27Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Me, the only reason I’d see to not flush the damn thing would be fear it’d get stuck and clog the pipes. BLECH! they are good at squirming through pipes so if it’s alive it is not likely to get stuck. if it would die and get stuck a snake (the metal plumbing kind) would take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/33 "2009-09-24T18:45:03Z")
If there’s a rat in your head, is there a little yellow man under your bed? ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/34 "2009-09-24T19:28:07Z")
Wow, there’s a lot of rat-haters around here. My sister used to have two pet rats. They were very friendly and intelligent and liked to ride around on her shoulders. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/35 "2009-09-24T19:33:37Z")
> [@Morgis](#): > > Wow, there’s a lot of rat-haters around here. My sister used to have two pet rats. They were very friendly and intelligent and liked to ride around on her shoulders. Rats are fine in their proper context. That would be either as pets belonging to people who do not live in my house, or at a minimum several hundred feet away from me, my house, and my car. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/36 "2009-09-24T19:49:54Z")
> [@Morgis](#): > > Wow, there’s a lot of rat-haters around here. My sister used to have two pet rats. They were very friendly and intelligent and liked to ride around on her shoulders. Fine and dandy. But they weren’t sewer rats carrying God knows what nasty bugs. Damn, I wish I hadn’t opened this thread, I will not rest easy on my throne this night. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/37 "2009-09-24T19:54:22Z")
Lucky. I’d love to have a rat that I could flush and have run up and down my sewer drains. I have old pipes filled with gunk, and Drano and running a snake only does so much. A frisky rat with teeth and claws would get my bathtub draining like it should 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/38 "2009-09-24T20:04:28Z")
Jesus. I might not mind having a rat as a pet but a rat in my toilet?! It’s gone, man - it’s lucky if I only flush it! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/39 "2009-09-24T20:39:54Z")
Myself, I’d close the lid long enough to put on leather work gloves, and rig up either a big set of tongs or a noose on a stick to trap the rat and take it far away. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341/40 "2009-09-24T22:50:03Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I can’t believe you even have to advise people not to shoot their toilet. Is this one of those “Only in America” things? :smack: > 😛 You’ve never heard the phrase “As easy as shooting rats in a toilet”? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emergency-theres-a-rat-in-my-toilet/511341.md?page=3)