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I don't know about sewers, but toads can drown. You might want someone to look at your bathroom and see how they think the toads are getting in. Stopping them would be best for you both, especially if you find a problem you can fix before it gets worse.
Due to a childhood trauma I am terrified of frogs/toads, especially the smaller ones. (I swam through a kiddie pool full of drowned peeper toads at the age four when I had waist-length hair.)
Oh!..little froggy guys. I thought maybe that one word was mis-spelled in a thread about commodes.
Amphibians commonly find their way into homes via sump- pump pipes which have above ground discharge pipe openings. Maybe your invaders are coming in that way and then finding their way to more water in the BR?
I would check the drain cleanout fitting (if you have one) at the main drain of the house. It has a removable cap that sticks out of the ground and is about 18" from the wall. It allows plumbers access to the main drain if it needs to be cleared.
Our cap was older and it rusted and fell off (newer ones are PVC). DH told me it was not important to fix it and just to prop it back on, but it kept falling off and eventually a tiny snake got in and came up through the toilet. The kids were the ones that found it and they freaked out. They didn't want DH to flush it so he tried to catch it, but it swam away from him back up the line. The kids refused to use that toilet for weeks because they were afraid the snake was still there lurking.
For your consideration: rats are good swimmers, and good at squeezing through small spaces. If it's not as simple as putting the cap back on the cleanout, you need to get a plumber to figure out where the plumbing has opened up.
Thanks for all the info and suggestions! I'm going to attack this on a few fronts:
1. Close the bathroom drain and keep the toilet lid closed and weighted down. (I'm still going to be afraid of finding a drowned toad every time I open it!) Use the toilet during the day.
2. Buy some "sewer line protection insurance". OK, that's cheating a bit since I MAY have a problem, but I'm not going to use it unless I find another critter and I need expensive work on the sewer line.
3. If I find another critter, living or dead, call a plumber and have them check the vent stack, drain cleanout fitting, etc. (I'm 66 and live alone- not an expert on plumbing and don't want to do anything particularly filthy or hazardous myself.)
Entirely possible. My daughter rented a house on a hillside in Durango. A small rat came up and out of her toilet. The house was over a hundred years old and apparently the system had collapsed somewhere. Slum landlord wouldn't fix it, so they moved. That hillside was full of snakes, so I always looked before I sat down. Call a plumber.
When my daughter was 2 or 3 she told me there was a frog in the toilet. I went and didn't find any. I thought she was making that up. Later that day I did see it in the kids bathroom. I caught it and put it outside. A few hours later I saw one in my toilet. A friend came over and put screening on the vent on the roof and no more frogs. I still did look before I used it for months after.
When my daughter was 2 or 3 she told me there was a frog in the toilet. I went and didn't find any. I thought she was making that up. Later that day I did see it in the kids bathroom. I caught it and put it outside. A few hours later I saw one in my toilet. A friend came over and put screening on the vent on the roof and no more frogs. I still did look before I used it for months after.
I was on a septic tank.
Were they coming in front the roof? I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.
Were they coming in front the roof? I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.
Yes, they are coming in from the roof through the "stink pipe" or vent.
Just like Donna I put a screen over the bathroom vent pipe on the roof, not one more frog and it has been years.
In fact I put a screen over the vent pipe for the kitchen sink too, even though I never had a frog in there that I could see, I just didn't want any of the poor little guys falling into that vent either, to a certain death.
In the OP's case with the house built into the side of a hill they must have access and the roof is a good place to catch flying bugs.......they are doing her a service.
In my case I have trees limbs that hang close to the house and a security light that attracts bugs .....froggy restaurant heaven.
Last edited by Annie53; 04-17-2019 at 10:54 AM..
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A friend came over and put screening on the vent on the roof and no more frogs.
I still did look before I used it for months after.
