Can rodents enter a building through plumbing?

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Rodents are class of animals that includes such creatures as rats, mice, hamsters, squirrels, raccoons, possums, among others. Because of the group that falls into this category they are not only known for strong teeth and a high propensity towards reproduction, but also for the manner in which they are able to survive and take advantage of human beings being around them to increase their level of survival.



Rats and mice, for example, thrive everywhere that people go. In fact, it can be said that it is because of human beings that rats and mice are doing so well. They have learned to adjust to the structures that people have created to make home for themselves, and have also found that the waste, crops, and food that people have are ideal for them to be able to eat and enjoy for their own survival.

These two rodents are not the only ones who have benefited from man. Raccoons thrived as well in areas now because of man-made intervention, and this is also true of the squirrels and possums as well. Man has truly been good to the rodent in many ways.

One interesting way in which rodents have found man-made intervention to be of great benefit is in the area of plumbing. If you visit a sewer system you are likely to find rats and mice living in large populations there. They not only have an abundance of water available to them, but there is also a great deal of space that makes for a perfect home. Not only is it spacious, but people rarely go into sewers so they can enjoy the benefits of anonymity while drinking the water and eating the waste. It’s an absolutely fantastic option.

However, it is used by these rodents for much more than a home. Rats and mice will travel through the pipes of the sewer system in your community, and will often use the pipes to work their way in through the plumbing of somebody’s home. This may sound totally crazy, but there are many instances where small rodents have been able to use the plumbing system and a person’s home to be able to get out of the street sewer and into their house.

You would think that the water rushing away from the home would cause these critters to drown or at least wash away, but rats and mice are actually quite good swimmers and can battle against small currents for a short period of time to continue on their trek toward your bathroom.

To ensure that this doesn’t happen, it is important to have catches that are secured over your drain so that the rodents are unable to work their way up the plumbing and into your home. This will quickly resolve your problem.

You should be aware that is only the smallest sized rodents that can have this kind of success, because rodents like raccoons and possums are not able to work their way through the piping. Read more: Rat Control, Get Rats Out of the Attic, Rat Trapping, Rats in the Ceiling, Rat Feces.