Can Rats Get in through the Plumbing

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Rodents in plumbing system - The only rodent that is going to invade a home through the plumbing system will be a rat. Norway rats are excellent swimmers and have been known to enter homes through drains and other plumbing (like toilets!). Can Rats Swim? More modern homes will have special valves installed on plumbing to prevent rats from reaching a home. If you are not certain that your home has one of these upgrades, you should make it a priority to investigate the matter. There is nothing worse than lifting your toilet lid to find a live rat leaping out of the bowl. Most rat issues of this nature can be prevented with the installation of grates on drains and valves in the plumbing system. If you are moving into an apartment building in the city, make sure you ask your landlord if the plumbing is rat-proof. Some older buildings do not have the latest and greatest when it comes to rat prevention.



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Rooftop plumbing vent pipes rat access Norway rats, otherwise known as sewer rats or brown rats, are known for their ability to swim into homes through pipes and drain outlets. Brown rats are not the best climbers, but they can make it high enough in a building to venture in through the roof. If you have any kind of roof plumbing, as many apartments in cities do, you will want to make sure a grate has been installed that will prevent rats from accessing the pipes. The most common rat on a roof is the black rat which has far better climbing skills than the Norway rat. Black rats are not known for their inclination to swim through pipes. In the scheme of things, rats accessing a home through plumbing on the roof are relatively rare. A rat of any type may enter a home from the roof, through a pipe or a vent not protected. Keeping your home guarded against this type of intrusion is the key. Make sure all openings have the appropriate caps or grates. Any holes or damaged areas of the home need to be repaired. Failure to do these simple steps, especially in urban settings, may result in a serious rodent issue.

Plumbing stack fix - Rats can get into the plumbing system by climbing down the plumbing stacks on the roof. To fix a plumbing stack that has been damaged by a rat, you should consider hiring a professional plumber. The plumbing stack is the pipe that connects your in-home drains to the outside sewer system. There are special codes that need to be adhered to, and improper installation can lead to more issues in the future. Rats may not have damaged the pipes themselves, but may have chewed away some of the seals that help keep the pipes from leaking. Water damage is difficult to repair, especially in an older home or in a multi-level building with apartments. Some plumbing stacks run the entire height of a building, through the exterior wall. Damage on a stack of this caliber will be a very difficult fix. The damaged area must be located and then access created so that the rest of the building does not need to be disturbed. If you’re lucky, and seals are the only part of the stack that need to be replaced, the expense of such a project should not be too intimidating. Any time you have to open a wall, however, you will be looking at significant repair bills. All of this could have been avoided with proper exterior care of the building. Preventing rats from getting inside to begin with is the more effective way to prevent rodent damage.

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