A Brisbane plumber has shared advice on what to do should a snake be found in a toilet

This is the one toilet blockage a plumber cannot help you with. Here is what to do should it happen to you

A QUEENSLAND plumber has urged people who find snakes in their toilets to ring a snake catcher.

“Don’t ring a plumber. Plumbers aren’t experienced with these kinds of toilet blockages,” Rebecca Senyard wrote on her Facebook page, The Plumbette.

An award-winning tradeswoman, Mrs Senyard, 35, of Heathwood, now writes a lifestyle and interiors blog focusing on plumbing.

Despite snakes sometimes being found in toilets throughout Queensland each season, Mrs Senyard assures that it’s not common for the reptiles to make a dunny their home.

“It’s an alarming sight and can give one quite a fright when using the toilet at night with no lights on!,” she wrote.

“(But) More plumbers have seen snakes under houses or in a roof cavity, than in the toilet.

“It definitely happens but it’s not likely that every household in Brisbane or even Australia will experience a snake emerging from their toilet bowl.”

A carpet python took a dip in a Wynnum family's toilet in 2019. Picture: Brisbane Snake Catchers

Mrs Senyard said it was believed snakes ended up slithering into loos two separate ways.

“The first way is if you have an open door or window with no fly screen,” she said.

“A snake can slither through the window, and when it’s hot they can look for water and slide down into the toilet bowl.”

The second way involved a snake sliding into a sewer opening and making its way through the S bend of a commode.

“Sewers will sometimes have rats so it’s only natural for the snake to follow the food trail,” Mrs Senyard wrote.

“Unfortunately there is no such thing as a drowned rat, as rats can swim in water.

“So can some snakes, however the air gap in a sewer makes the trail easy for snakes to slither like Mission Impossible through a sewer.”

A plumber says please ring a snake catcher, not a plumber, should you find a snake in your toilet like this Wynnum family did in 2019. Picture Brisbane Snake Catchers

The second generation plumber said one way to prevent snakes from entering via a sewer was to check around the house, especially near an overflow relief gully – a drain like fitting with a grate on top and a bend on the bottom – to make sure there was no deterioration or holes from weather, age or mowing.

It was also important to ensure the grate was on and the pipe was clear of debris.

Mrs Senyard said residents should also ensure their home is not a magnet for “snake food like mice and rats.”

“Check for any holes into your home,” she said.

“The most common orifices in newer houses is through remote control garage doors where the bottom rubber seal has lifted allowing small gaps for mice and rats to come into the garage and into your house.”

Rebecca Senyard and her family. Picture: The Plumbette/Facebook

Keeping pet doors closed at night, putting dog food away and having pest control done if a mice or rat infestation was discovered is also recommended.

“Check screens on windows that there are no holes and keep rubbish … sealed in bags or in a lidded bin,” Mrs Senyard wrote.

The plumber, who followed in her father – Col Jones’s – footsteps, said she emphasised the colloquial phrase “look before you leak.”

Mrs Senyard, who has Esther, 9, Maggie, 7 and Phoebe, 5, with her husband Jacob, admits finding a snake in her toilet would be one of her worst nightmares.

On her theplumbette.com.au blog, Mrs Senyard shared one more piece of advice.

“If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of finding a snake in your toilet bowl, feel free to scream (I would), place the top lid of the toilet down and put the toilet roll holder or something that is heavy (like a brick) on top of the toilet lid,” she wrote.

“Close the window/ door and ring your local snake catcher to retrieve the snake and release it back into the wild. (sic)”