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Dead newts in the basement

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Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 3:57pm
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Topic: Dead newts in the basement
Posted By: DaddySunday
Subject: Dead newts in the basement
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2019 at 7:59am
Hello all. I moved into a new house 3 months ago and in the last couple of weeks have found 4 dead smooth newts in the basement. There are no cracks in the walls for them to hibernate in and the door and windows to the outside are flush (the house is in Switzerland and my basement was originally the nuclear shelter which was at one point required by law, so there really are no gaps!). The only way I can imagine that they are getting in is through the drain, which has a sort of bell-shaped cover under the grill (so pretty hard to get through). Has anyone heard of this happening? I am guessing that they are falling into the drains at street level, getting flushed down to our basement (which is completely dry) and, unable to get back past the drain cover, ending up dehydrating in the middle of the floor. Would love to somehow prevent this from happening if anyone has any suggestions!



Replies:
Posted By: GemmaJF
Date Posted: 18 Sep 2019 at 8:43pm
I have come across similar things several times where amphibians have fallen down various drains. Solutions would range from altering the cover in some way so they cannot fall in, to providing some form of ladder so if they do get past the grate on the drain they at least have a way to climb out. Having said that I also sometimes find dried up newts upstairs in the house. I often try to imagine how they got in the house and managed to scale the stairs only to end up dehydrated and dead in one of our bedrooms!



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