Finding a frog in a toilet bowl is unpleasant and even scary for some people. And to get rid of it fast, most people flush it down the toilet. This isn’t kind and can lead to plumbing issues and water wastage. Remember that you can’t and shouldn’t be flushing everything down your toilet. Today, we’ll focus on what happens if you flush a frog down the toilet. Keep reading to find safe ways to remove this creature from your bathroom and prevent future invasions.
Why Is There a Frog in My Toilet?
These creatures need water or, at the very least, moist environments to survive. They breathe through their skin, but only if it’s damp. This means that a dry frog is a dead frog.
For this reason, it’s not strange that a frog might appear in your toilet, especially if you have plants and weeds around it. The water and moist environment in the toilet are perfect for frogs to take a dip and cool off.
How Does a Frog End up in My Toilet?
Another question probably lingering in your mind is, “How can frogs come up through the toilet?” The answer to this is important so you can take the proper steps to prevent future invasions.
Frogs can get into your house in diverse ways, as follows:
One of Your Kids Put It There
If you have small kids, you’ve likely experienced them bringing all kinds of strange things into the home. There’s a chance they found a frog outside and decided to bring it indoors in its swimming pool.
The Frog Entered via a Sewer Opening
A frog will most likely access your toilet via a sewer opening or cracked pipe next to the house. Frogs enjoy swimming. And their feet and toes can stick to anything, including drains and toilet bowls.
That being said, a frog in a toilet-septic tank is only possible if the opening is near the house/toilet. Frogs can’t manage a long swim from a far-off septic tank.
Falling Down the Bathroom or Toilet Vent
A frog in the toilet can also come from above. This is especially true for tree frogs, who like hanging out on trees soaking up the warmth. The frog might fall on your roof, get into the house via the plumbing vents, and eventually end up in your toilet.
An Open Window or Door
Frogs can easily enter the house through an open door or window. This is common in the countryside or if you live near a garden with frogs roaming around.
Also, most frogs are small and can squeeze through cracks in the walls or floors of your home. Once in the house, they could easily end up in the bathroom and jump into the toilet bowl to cool themselves. While this might sound complicated, it’s, in fact, one of the most common ways frogs get into the toilet.
What to Do if There’s a Frog in Your Toilet
Frogs are generally not poisonous or even dangerous, but they can be carriers of germs and bacteria that can cause serious illnesses in people. Plus, they are unsightly, and seeing them in the toilet can be pretty scary for some people.
Without further ado, here’s how to get rid of a frog in your toilet.
Removal
The most efficient and safest removal method is to capture and release it outside. You can simply shoo and guide the frog out of the house.
If you feel comfortable, you can scoop the frog with your hands or another tool and put it in a container. Be sure to do this carefully and gently not to scare the frog; otherwise, it will jump out, and you might have to chase it around the bathroom or the entire house.
While frogs are not harmful, wearing heavy-duty gloves can make things less gross and off-putting while preventing the possible infection of the Salmonella bacteria.
Once in a container, you can discard the frog in the garden or nearby pond, tree, or woods.
Sometimes, the frog will hide and hold on tightly under the rim of the toilet, making it difficult to remove them. In that case, you can use a fish net or butterfly net. Place the mesh underneath the frog and flush the toilet. This will push the frog to let go, and it should land safely into the net. Then you can discard them outside.
If you’re too scared to remove this creature on your own, you can always contact local pest control to help.
Can I Flush a Frog Down the Toilet
You may think of just flushing the frog down the toilet and being done with it. Here’s what happens if you flush a frog down the toilet:
It Can Cause Plumbing Issues
As mentioned earlier, just because you found a frog in your toilet doesn’t mean it came in through the drains. So, flushing it may not take it back to where it came from. Secondly, the frog could get stuck somewhere along the drains. And if you cannot unclog the toilet with a plunger or a toilet snake, you may need costly repairs.
The Frog Might Climb Back
If you’re lucky, the flushing can take the frog down to the sewer, and you never have to see it again. But frogs have round and large toe pads that act like suction cups, thus enabling them to cling to smooth surfaces. When you flush down the frog, it might hang in the drains only to climb or swim back up later. And again, you have to worry about how to get rid of frogs in drain pipes.
Water Wastage
Flushing down a frog will require a lot of water. And unfortunately, you may not even succeed in keeping it from your toilet.
It’s Cruel: Can a Frog Survive Being Flushed?
Most people don’t think or even care about what happens to the frog after it’s flushed down the sewer. It’s a death sentence. The frog will likely end up in a sewer treatment plant and these facilities are not designed to flush out small animals from the water. The frog will die a slow, painful death when you could have guided it out.
How Can I Keep Frogs Out of My Toilet?
Keeping frogs out of your house and toilet is quite simple:
- Seal off any openings in your bathroom and around the house
- Cover the open end of plumbing vents with a wire mesh screen or a hardware cloth
- Repair broken pipes and broken sewer lines
- Outside light can be useful in many ways, especially at night. Unfortunately, it attracts lots of flying insects that are food for frogs. If you’re having an invasion of frogs, you may need to turn off the outside light.
- Keep your garden and yard clean.
- A damp and humid environment is a breeding ground for bugs and frogs. You need to keep your garden and yard clean and dry to prevent this.
- Remove or trim trees and shrubs near your house and its roof. This will prevent frogs from accessing the roof vents and into the home.
Final Remarks on What Happens if You Flush a Frog Down the Toilet
We hope this text has answered the question, “What happens if you flush a frog down the toilet?” If there’s a frog in the toilet bowl, find safer ways to remove and relocate them to their natural habitat.
The truth is most frogs in your home have just lost their way. And with no insects in your toilet, for them to feed on, they’ll be more than willing to get out.
