Although a fairly rare occurrence indeed, it is not completely unheard of to have a mouse in your toilet bowl. What we want to do today is to figure out whether or not a mouse can come up through the piping into your toilet, and whether or not you can flush it down the toilet. We also want to talk about whether a mouse will flush down the toilet if it is still alive.
Let’s figure out what you need to do if you find a mouse in your toilet.
Can Mice Come Through Toilet?
Of course, this sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, having a mouse or a rat climb up through your toilet, and potentially biting you on the backside. Now, although this is a rare occurrence, technically speaking, it is possible for a rat or a mouse to climb up through the pipes and into your toilet.
This is especially the case if you do not have any kind of valve or grate installed at the end of your toilet which will prevent anything physical from coming back up through the pipes, and yes this includes a live animal such as a mouse or a rat. Therefore, if you have no such grate or valve installed in your toilet, then it is technically possible for live rodents to climb up through to your toilet bowl.
The interior of pipes is not always smooth, and this can provide those little claws and feet with enough grip to climb up through. However, what you need to realize is that this is an extremely rare occurrence, and if you find a mouse or rat in your toilet or in your bathroom in general, it’s much likelier that it entered through a hole in a wall or the floor, not directly through the pipes.
Can You Flush a Mouse Alive?
Now, a lot of people wonder if they can flush a live mouse or rat down the toilet. If you find a live mouse in your toilet, can you just flush it? Well, the answer here is that you could certainly try, although it does call animal cruelty into question here. Being flushed down a toilet and drowning while being shot through a variety of pipes is definitely not something enjoyable.
Moreover, mice and rats are actually decent swimmers, and they may actually be able to hold onto the pipes until the flushing is done. Furthermore, it is actually much more likely that a mouse or a rat will try to jump out of the toilet when you go to flush it, rather than being flushed down.
At the end of the day, trying to flush a live rodent down the toilet is not a good idea.
Can (and Should) You Flush a Dead Mouse Down the Toilet?
Whether you can flush a dead mouse down the toilet and whether you should flush a dead mouse down the toilet are two separate questions, so let’s address them separately.
Technically speaking, mice are usually fairly small, and they can fit into even the smallest of spaces, which is because they have collapsible spines. Therefore, you should be able to flush a mouse down the toilet without it having any super serious consequences. However, keep in mind that while it is unlikely that a small mouse will cause your pipes to clog, it’s not totally impossible.
You are better off removing the mouse from the toilet without flushing it. If you do have a septic system, then dead rodents may cause problems as they can eventually cause backups to occur. If you flush a mouse down your toilet and it ends up creating a clog, then it’s going to create a whole lot more problems because you are most likely going to have to call a plumber to remedy the issue.
3 Alternatives Ways to Dispose of Dead Mice
OK, so you can’t flush that mouse down the toilet, which means that you’re going to have to put on some gloves and literally fish it out of the toilet. That said, once you have fished a dead mouse out of the toilet, what do you do with it?
One of the most important things to keep in mind here is that you should never touch these things with your bare hands because they can be host to a variety of bacteria and parasites that you don’t want anywhere near you. Also, before you go digging any dead mice or rats out of the toilet with your hands, whether you are wearing gloves or not, it might be a good idea to use a stick or something similar to give it a little poke first, just to ensure that it is actually dead, or else it might bite your fingers when you go to pick it up.
Let’s quickly talk about three different ways to dispose of dead wildlife such as mice and rats.
1. Bury It
If you are an eco-conscious person and would like the dead mouse to be able to contribute to Mother Nature, then one thing that you can do is to bury it a couple of feet below the surface of the ground somewhere in your backyard or wherever else you see fit. The mouse will simply decompose and its nutrients will be fed back into the earth.
2. Trash It
What most people will choose to do here is to simply put the mouse in a plastic trash bag and put it in the garbage. This is definitely the easiest way to go about it.
3. Burn It
If you happen to be somebody who makes fires on a regular basis, such as if you are burning old trees and brush, then one easy thing to do is to toss the dead mouse into the fire. This will take care of everything and leave no trace behind.
Summary
So, the bottom line here is that if you find a mouse in your toilets, whether dead or alive, flushing it is generally not the best course of action.