King County Warns Of Toilet Rats Seeking Shelter In Homes

It's not the Garden Weasel from RonCo. It's not Roto-rooter and it's definitely not the Toilet Duck. King County officials are warning residents of flooded areas to watch out for, toilet rats. 

That's right, toilet rats. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘Heavy rain can drive the rodents into sewer lines that run from your house to the street, as rats will seek drainage systems that aren’t flooded, said spokesperson Kate Cole.
Like a furry Santa Claus, they’ll invade your home via unconventional means. Kitchen pipes are too small for the little burglars to climb through, so they’ll try to sneak in through the john.’ 

King County Public Health is offering some suggestions on how to deal with toilet rats, and it doesn't have anything to do with putting a brick on the lid of your toilet so they can stay there and swim around for a while. 

First off, don't freak out. 

The first thing you're supposed to do is flush the toilet. If the little guy doesn't go down the drain they suggest you take some dishwashing soap, (Oh, you're soaking in it.) 

lift the lid quickly, squirt some in the bowl and try flushing again. if that doesn't work, it's time to call pest control. King County Public Health says don't try to catch it yourself. Although your kids might find it fun to watch you try to do it, (Hey, you might wind up on YouTube.) Just remember to keep the toilet lid closed and the bathroom door closed until somebody comes to dispose of the critter. 

Another thing rats do is they look for food and if you have a garbage disposal system and you rinse that food down the drain the rats will follow it back up and possibly enter through the Kitchen sink. 

They are not your friends. 

One thing to keep in mind is that wild rats are, in fact, yes, wild rats. They can wind up carrying diseases that will make you and your pet sick. They are not domesticated. They are not fuzzy, friendly little guys.