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Preventing Snakes From Toilets: A Facilities Management Perspective

toilet sign

The worries that followed the news of the death of a Nigeria Air force female personnel who died as a result of snakebite in her toilet water closet have renewed the fear of the unknown among many people.

While discussions around snakes hiding in the toilet and causing havoc has been around for a few years, it took the last unfortunate incident which seem “close to home” for Nigerians to take it seriously and to genuinely want to know about the causes and solutions. Consequently, questions on how possible snakes and other reptiles manage to enter our toilets have been a content of deliberations all over social media for the past few days.

The causes of this can be basically traced to building/sewage defaults like broken sewers, uncovered septic tanks, broken ventilation pipes, etc. While these are issues that come up after a building must have been built, the importance of building maintenance hence manifests itself here because if a facility maintenance plan or team is in place, this among many other toilet-based animal attacks would have been prevented beforehand.

So what can be done to prevent snakes and other reptiles & rodents from entering the toilet?

1. Conduct Maintenance Checks On Your Sewage System

This is by and large the most professional and best step to take if you truly want to prevent an unfortunate eventuality. This is going to be a form of preventive maintenance whereby all sewage defaults are properly noted and fixed. By doing this necessary repairs like broken sewage or ventilation pipes, unsealed slabs, etc are effected.

2. Fumigate Your Sewage System:

Disinfecting your toilet and everything that has to do with it with chemicals is a smart way of keeping your toilet a “no go area” for snakes. This should be done as often as you can, but the recommended standard is every six months.

3. Make Sure Your Roofs & Ceiling Are Sealed

Animals naturally find a way of using the space in between the roof and the ceiling as a home and breeding ground and they can crawl down into your toilet anytime. Such animals are Birds, Rats, Cats, Snakes, Lizards, etc. Hence, it is important that not even a tiny space is left whenever repairs are done in your house.

4. Ensure Proper Toilet Hygiene

While the aforementioned can be done, these cold-blooded reptiles can still find other means of entering your toilet, so as you do the points highlighted above, it is also important you ensure excellent toilet hygiene at all times.

Alternatively, there are Do-It-Yourself temporary measures you can adopt to keep snakes away from your toilet. One of such is the use of Naphthalene Balls. Put this at strategic corners of your toilet and bathrooms. Also you can put them inside your water closet so as to be dissolved and flushed down the sewage pipe. This can be done daily. Others are natural repellents including Sulfur, Clove & Cinnamon oil, Vinegar & Salt. Pour these substances around the perimeter of your property, any place you have noticed snake activity.

In Conclusion

When preventive maintenance is properly done, the effects can be satisfying. In this regard, providing these services as a facilities management professional means there’s a guarantee of snake-free toilets in your residential and commercial buildings.

For assistance on proper maintenance and fumigation of your facility, call us on 08144000052 or send us an email via info@eliezergroup.com.

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