11 Surprising Animals That Could Escape Through Your Outdoor Drain
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We tend to think of drains as purely functional, but they can serve as escape routes (or entry points) for all sorts of creatures. Picture this: One day, you’re going about your day, and then, out of your yard’s drain pops a head. It’s amazing and sometimes unsettling how small creatures and sometimes larger than you’d think creatures can squeeze through a drain.
It’s not just curiosity in learning what animals might pop out of your drains. And it’s also about keeping your outdoor spaces safe and avoiding potential disruptions. Let’s explore the wonderful world of creatures that may just view your outdoor drains as their means of great escape.
Rats
Rats are very agile and flexible. Rats explore unrelentingly. They will do anything to reach an opportunity, even squeeze through a tight spot. They’re famed for their collapsible body, small enough to slip into a quarter-sized opening. They use drains as shelter and as an easy way to surface looking for food. Once they get out, they can make a mess by gnawing on wires, spreading disease or foraging through garbage.
Snakes
Snakes are slithery and stealthy, and you often find them slithering into outdoor drains. During hot weather, they frequently find refuge in the cool, dark places of drainage systems. Garter snakes, for instance, are small enough to slip through grates and surprise you. Imagine relaxing on your patio, and seeing a snake slithering out of a drain, it would definitely make your heart skip a beat!
Frogs
Frogs are naturals at escape. Amphibians are often attracted to drains because it’s wet and safe. They can be leap out of small openings and you’d be surprised by their sudden appearances. They love damp environments, so drains are a great place for them to hang around temporarily when natural water sources are hard to come by during dry spells.
Raccoons
Raccoons are notorious for being clever and drains aren’t a match for the cleverness of these furballs. Surprisingly, underground tunnels are not very difficult to navigate for them to find their way out. Around urban areas, these bandit furries will often use drains as shortcuts out, popping out at garbage bins or gardens to raid.
Crabs
Crabs are unexpected outdoor drain visitors if you live near the coast. These creatures can use the drainage systems to move from one water body to another, or drain into the sea. Though it looks comical, seeing one in your backyard can be a big surprise. During a storm or a high tide, crabs often wander inland through drains.
Eels
Eels are slippery, determined things that also can slip through those little drainage pipes. They will often follow water currents and come out of drains into ponds, gardens and even lawns. It’s a reminder of how intertwined our waterways actually are.
Insects
All sorts of insects — from ants to pests like cockroaches — use drains as highways. They live in damp dark places and can often pop up through outdoor drains. Because they are small, they don’t seem intimidating, and their sheer numbers can be overwhelming. One cockroach? Manageable. Dozens pouring out of a drain. A nightmare.
Snapping Turtles
Larger animals, such as snapping turtles, may surprise you by showing up in your drain system. Usually, they enter when flooding occurs, or when drainage systems are linked up with natural water sources such as ponds. Although they won’t stick around long, if you’ve never seen a turtle in your yard, they can be very startling, and their size is enough to startle anyone.
Opossums
No matter how large, opossums are quite a flexible bunch of critters, meaning they can and will fit through a drain. Often, they use drains as a travelling route or a place to hide. In a suburban area, it’s not unusual for one of these nocturnal animals to pop up out of a drain and run into the nearby bushes.
Fish
Yes, fish! Some types of the smallest freshwater fish can sometimes be dragged through subsurface drainage. It’s especially true if your outdoor drain flows into a nearby stream or river. Seeing a fish flop out of a drain feels like something out of a children’s book!
Mice
Like their larger rodent relatives, mice are great at fitting through small places. For escaping predators, or for food, they use drains. Plus, mice can squeeze through holes as small as a dime, which means drainage systems are a common stop for them. They are also too small and move too fast to catch.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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