Anonymous wrote:This only happens in DC because of the antiquated sewer system and it crosses storm drains

We live in Bethesda. It happened to us. And on the second floor of our home!! The rat was huge, and fortunately, dead. I flushed it immediately. In retrospect, I should have taken a picture of it. DH and the kids still think I was having a nightmare. But this was before I had an Iphone handy. Still brings chills down my spine whenever I think of it.

Anonymous wrote:Ack. I'm never ever going to use any toilet ever again. Bring on the Depends.

this is exactly why I use my neighbor's yard...

Hate to tell you but snakes follow the vermin. I saw it on TV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least you know you don't have snakes, OP.

I'd rather have a snake. They don't come up the pipes, right?

Only at Hogwarts.

Ha! Learn to speak Parseltongue.

Anonymous wrote:OP, there is no amount of freaking out about this that I would consider excessive.

I would tell you to burn the house down and salt the earth, but you just renovated.

Not OP, but thanks for the laugh

OMG I am so paranoid about this. Every time I go to pee (especially in the middle of the night) I check to see that there is nothing in the toilet. My mom has been going on about this possible problem for years (I live in the ground floor). I don't think I'll ever get any sleep now. I'll be keeping the bathroom doors closed at all times at a minimum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies and support! I just about died! It is not in the basement but on the first floor. Brand new bathroom a few months ago and it is used a lot. I screamed and must have scared it and it jumped out!

Jumped out? Is it in your house?

I slammed the door shut and when I went to peek in 5 minutes later it was gone. I assume it went back down the toilet? It is a small bathroom and empty so nowhere to hide in there. Ugh so grossed out but more worried he will be back! Thank goodness my daughter didn't find it! Plumber may be able to put a screen on the pipe so done mentioned. I hope this is true!!

Is there a bit of space between the door and the floor? If so, the rat might be elsewhere in the house. They can crawl through very small spaces.

A little but I was standing there most of time so I think it left either via toilet or air vent? Do u think it could have crawled back in the toilet? Or gotten into the vent? Anyone recommend pest control that comes the same day?

So really you don't know.
Is there a grate on the air vent?

Anonymous wrote:We have friends of friends in Chicago who had to move out of their nice house because of a sewer rat infestation. There were rats, multiple, coming up out of their toilets and through the pipes.

Ha! Did they disclose in the selling documents? Curious how they sold.... Or did they remediate?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least you know you don't have snakes, OP.

I'd rather have a snake. They don't come up the pipes, right?

Only at Hogwarts.

Try calling TrapPro. If you just renovated that bathroom, I would also guess the air vent. We had mice issues shortly after we renovated our upstairs bathroom, and the pest control guy told me that it is very common in the DC area for people to do bathroom renovations but the remodelers never put a screen over the air vent. (I am not a plumber, but he explained the air vent to me as an open pipe that supplies air to the toliet to make it flush.) He said the rats climb down the air vent and into the toliet and that is more common than coming up from the sewer. The guy told me this horror story about a woman who had just spent $30K to remodel her bathroom and they had to rip open the entire wall and tiling to get to the air vent where the rats were entering. Good luck!!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies and support! I just about died! It is not in the basement but on the first floor. Brand new bathroom a few months ago and it is used a lot. I screamed and must have scared it and it jumped out!

Jumped out? Is it in your house?

I slammed the door shut and when I went to peek in 5 minutes later it was gone. I assume it went back down the toilet? It is a small bathroom and empty so nowhere to hide in there. Ugh so grossed out but more worried he will be back! Thank goodness my daughter didn't find it! Plumber may be able to put a screen on the pipe so done mentioned. I hope this is true!!

Is there a bit of space between the door and the floor? If so, the rat might be elsewhere in the house. They can crawl through very small spaces.

I'm the PP with the mouse--the mouse didn't come up through the toilet (we assume), but came in from the walls through the gap around the waste pipe under the sink. I think it just fell in the toilet and couldn't get out. Rat could have gotten in either way…and could get out either way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies and support! I just about died! It is not in the basement but on the first floor. Brand new bathroom a few months ago and it is used a lot. I screamed and must have scared it and it jumped out!

Jumped out? Is it in your house?

I slammed the door shut and when I went to peek in 5 minutes later it was gone. I assume it went back down the toilet? It is a small bathroom and empty so nowhere to hide in there. Ugh so grossed out but more worried he will be back! Thank goodness my daughter didn't find it! Plumber may be able to put a screen on the pipe so done mentioned. I hope this is true!!

Is there a bit of space between the door and the floor? If so, the rat might be elsewhere in the house. They can crawl through very small spaces.

A little but I was standing there most of time so I think it left either via toilet or air vent? Do u think it could have crawled back in the toilet? Or gotten into the vent? Anyone recommend pest control that comes the same day?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you for the replies and support! I just about died! It is not in the basement but on the first floor. Brand new bathroom a few months ago and it is used a lot. I screamed and must have scared it and it jumped out!

Jumped out? Is it in your house?

I slammed the door shut and when I went to peek in 5 minutes later it was gone. I assume it went back down the toilet? It is a small bathroom and empty so nowhere to hide in there. Ugh so grossed out but more worried he will be back! Thank goodness my daughter didn't find it! Plumber may be able to put a screen on the pipe so done mentioned. I hope this is true!!

Is there a bit of space between the door and the floor? If so, the rat might be elsewhere in the house. They can crawl through very small spaces.

This American Life had a short segment on this. It happens in basement and ground floor toilets.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/406/true-urban-legends?act=0#play

You can't find it???? Holy crap. call an exterminator