You might not have experienced it before, but the thought of entering your toilet for the normal business and then jamming those long, creepy creatures along is scary. The fact remains that no matter what you're told about snakes being beautiful and lovely, they're still the most dangerous creatures we can find around us.
Your toilet is not a snake farm, neither are you a snake farmer, so you won't have all the necessary equipment to guard, or even treat yourself of any snake bites.
How Do Snakes Get Into Our Toilets, Sinks And Bathrooms?
The question on how snakes and other reptiles manage to enter our bathrooms has been asked by many individuals all over the world. This issue is not only common in Africa, you'll also hear about it in the Western World, especially in areas near wildlife.• Ventilation pipes
One of the ways snakes get into our bathrooms are through the ventilation pipes. Yes, those pipes attached to drainage pipes near one or more traps, which leads to outside air. Snakes can easily their way through the ventilation system and, soon, into your toilet.This however happens if there are trees close to your building. The reptiles will easily find their ways through the trees to your roof tops, and down your ventilation pipes.
• Slithering from below
If you one day, open the toilet lid to find a snake inside (like the photo above), it is likely that it must have come from the sewer pipes. This can be caused by a break in the sewer lines or a loose cover on your septic tank.While this might sound like a fantasy or fiction, it is real and happens often than you could imagine. In this Nairaland post, a pregnant woman got bitten by a snake inside her WC in the early mornings of a cold January.
While I was still in the Imo State University, one of my neighbours saw a snake inside his toilet and we helped her kill it. This isn't a matter of I was told or I read it up, I witnessed this myself and from what we observed, the snake came through the sewer pipes.
The hostel was one of the best in the area (Aladinma) and was pretty expensive, so it wasn't a matter of poor maintenance, but nature playing.
• Through broken pipes
Another way snakes and reptiles can enter your toilet is through broken pipes and like I earlier said, slabs not properly covered. Some familiesWhat you should know...
The sight of a snake in the bathroom will likely unnerve you, but it shouldn't displace you. There is a great possibility that you just sighted a harmless python that got into the toiled while chasing a prey rat. In this case, you can easily kill it without having to fear about it fighting back.What if it turns out to be a cobra? Then running without remembering to close the toilet lid might be putting the lives of everyone living with you in a great danger. You might be giving the intruder an opportunity to crawl out and hide, and you know the implication?
How to prevent snakes from getting into your sinks, toilets and bathrooms
I'll be sharing some tips on how to easily snake-proof your toilets, sinks and bathrooms. The things I'll be sharing won't only protect you from snakes, but other reptiles and rodents that might want to sneak in through the toilet.• Repair all broken pipes:
Broken pipes are one of the easiest ways through which snakes and other reptiles get into our toilets. If you don't want to jam a snake inside your bathroom, I advise you conduct regular maintenance checks on your sewage system.Also, try getting a thick pipe when running your waste pipe because rats can easily make hole on a light pipe thereby creating avenue for other creatures to make use of it.
• Your vent too:
Like I earlier stated, snakes can easily find their ways through the trees to your roof tops, and down your ventilation pipes. To prevent this, you may need to put a screen over the vent opening in the roof.One thing you might experience if you do this is that the screen might periodically start exhibiting symptoms of poor venting, including slow draining and sewer smells, so you should also endeavour to clean the screen periodically.
• Cover your septic tanks:
I've seen a number of people leaving their slabs open, probably after running repairs on it. This can also lead to snakes or other reptiles turning the slab to their home and sometimes paying you a visit inside the house.To avoid short stories that touch in the future, always ensure that the plumber cements the slabs after carrying out the repairs.
• Periodically fumigate your sewage system:
Another way of reducing the chances snakes getting into your toilets is by disinfecting or purifying it with chemicals. Fumigation of your sewage system should be carried out at least every 6 months. also there are pesticides that are made specifically for this purpose.Also, you can periodically pour in salt into the water closet as reptiles and salts don't go hand in hand. Salts are very affordable and can be easily gotten in the retail stores around you.
• Always check:
Lastly, always endeavour to look inside the water closet before sitting down to perform any transactions on it. Remember the story of the pregnant woman that I shared above, a regular check should have gone a long way towards protecting her.What did I miss? Don't hesitating in dropping them as comments below, we'd really appreciate that. Before you leave, also check out these very important tips on how to use the public toilets safely.
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