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Recently, I looked in a rarely used toilet in my house and found a frog. Is this a sign of a plumbing problem?

I have seen on TV where lizards, snakes, and other critters are getting into toilets through the sewer/plumbing line. It would seem like there should be some sort of backflow valve to keep sewage and critters from coming into the house. Is it normal for things like this to take place in a 5 year old home that was a new construction? There are no mature trees around that would have broken a line or anything like that. Is there anything that can be done so that we do not have more visitors in the toilets that are not frequently used? Or even worse, before they decide to explore further into our home?

Public Comments

  1. Not really. Your sewer line connects to a much larger sewer system where there is no shortage of opportunistic (albeit rather disgusting) critters. It is fairly easy for them to swim up your pipes and into your unused toilets.
  2. Do you have kids???
  3. This frog did not come up through the pipes. If you could see the inside of a sewer system, you'd know that frogs will definitely not hang out there if they don't have to. Remember there is a water trap in the base as well. I think this little guy just happened into your house, or like was suggested before, one of your kids might be playing a trick on you. He's a real friend to your garden so gently release him back to nature and he'll keep your crickets in line!
  4. I don't think he came from your sewage lines.Critters have a way of coming into homes.I have found a frog in my tub one morning.I've also had a lizard crwl on my shoulder during a bath one time.He id not survive the throw unfortunatly.I beleive your frog happened to get in one day and found a swimming hole in your toilet.Since frogs are useful for keeping bugs down there is no way of getting rid of them.I checked the stores.
  5. It's not likely the frog came from a city sewage treatment plant or a septic tank. It was most likely a tree frog that came in though the vent stack on your roof. Make sure the vent stack/s are screened.
  6. there have been cases of alligators coming up the toilet,one man in Florida got his butt bitten by one,you might have a broken pipe where they are coming into your plumbing.
  7. Hondu is probably right. I read an article a week or two ago that described the very same thing. Not only can frogs come down the vent, squirrels have also been found skinny dipping in toilets!