Washington State Warns Residents of Rats Emerging from Toilets Amidst Severe Flooding
Massive flooding in Washington state has increased the risk of rodents entering sewer systems and homes. Seattle and the King County Public Health Department advised residents on Facebook to be prepared for rats potentially emerging from toilets during or after the floods. Official guidance suggests calmly flushing the rat down the toilet or squirting washing-up liquid into the toilet to grease its path back to the sewer system. If the rat is too large to flush, residents are instructed to close the toilet lid and call a pest-control professional. They may also need to use alternative toilets while dealing with the situation.
Rats are capable swimmers and can hold their breath for minutes, enabling them to enter homes through toilet openings, particularly in older buildings with leaky pipes that become vulnerable after heavy rainfall. Washington state has recently experienced some of its worst flooding of the month, which has caused evacuations, damaged roads, flooded homes, and landslides.
