If you want to enjoy your safe swimming pool to the fullest extent possible, you need to keep bugs out of the pool and off your swimmers. Swimming pool bugs come in all shapes and sizes. Some like to swim, others buzz across the water, and plenty just end up floating there dead. The one thing all these bugs have in common is that you don’t want them in your pool. While you can’t eliminate every chance of bugs entering your pool, there are steps you can take to help keep bugs at bay and prevent them from robbing you and your guests of your watery retreat.
Pests That Just Don’t Quit
An inground pool cover by itself won’t keep bugs away from your water. You have to take active steps to prevent them from making your pool area their summer retreat. That means preventing the conditions that draw them to your pool by denying them food and shelter, killing the bugs that are already around, and breaking the lifecycle to stop the next generation from becoming pests in their own right. We’ll help you understand what you can do to prevent infestations before they become a problem your guests have to suffer through.
Preventing Bugs In Your Pool Area
The best way to cure a swimming pool bug problem is to keep bugs out of your swimming pool area in the first place. There are several steps you can take to help dissuade them and take away the hospitable environment that leads them to the pool.
- Inground Pool Cover – It may not get the job done on its own, but a swimming pool safety cover can provide a barrier that will not only help keep bugs out but protect your loved ones from the dangers of accidental drownings. Several thousand lives a year are taken by drowning injuries, and a swimming pool safety cover that uses tear-resistant mesh anchored to rails along your pool edge can help secure your pool and support the weight of a full-grown adult until they can be helped to safety. This taut design also allows fewer access points for bugs.
- Maintain Your Landscaping – The bugs found in your swimming pool don’t necessarily consider water their primary habitat. While they may appreciate the water source, they make their homes in over-grown brush and trees, where the airflow is diminished enough to give them a warm, comfortable nest.
- Don’t Allow Standing Water On Your Property – Standing water stagnates, that’s why circulation is so important in your pool. Plenty of bugs, including mosquitos, need stagnant water to reproduce. By eliminating stagnant water with proper drainage of your yard and making sure no open containers to collect stagnant water are available as easy dating sites for pests.
- Don’t Leave Trash In Your Pool Area – Trash can contaminate your pool water but it can also introduce bugs to your pool area. Aside from those that may blow in on trash, food and beverages left out can easily attract insects drawn to the free meal. Make cleanup part of your summer pool party plans.
Taking Care of Existing Bug Problems
If the swimming pool bugs are already swarming, it’s not too late. There are steps you can take to start eliminating active bug infestations so you can keep bugs out of the pool and move on to prevention.
- Bug Zappers – They may be old-school, but zappers work when flying bug swarms are the issue. Using bright ultraviolet lights, they lure bugs into a metal mesh that delivers a lethal jolt of electricity. The characteristic buzz-pop sound is most effective at twilight when the bugs are drawn to the light in the largest numbers. If it’s installed near your pool, make sure to clean your inground pool cover before opening it, but wherever it is on your property, you will want to make sure you clean the area up daily to avoid leaving food for other bugs which may be scavengers.
- Smell Bad – No, not to your guests, but to bugs. There are scents, such as lavender and peppermint, that are deterrents to some kinds of insects. Citronella is a popular way to ward off bugs in candles, burning oils, bug sprays, and personal repellants. These scents can help keep bugs out of your swimming pool by keeping them away from you.
- Keep Your Pool Chemicals Balanced – Your pool chemicals do more than control algae and bacteria. Properly balanced pool water can be toxic to bugs, killing them outright. Make sure your water has a popper shock regularly and that proper levels are maintained to help keep living bugs out of your pool. This can be especially important after a big rainstorm when the humidity brings out insects that have been disturbed from their nests by the violent weather.
Breaking The Insect Lifecycle
Often, it isn’t enough to kill mature swimming pool bugs. You need to prevent the next generation from hatching or maturing to lay eggs of their own. The first step you’ve already done by robbing them of any stagnant water breeding grounds or bushy nests that are overgrown and choked for airflow.
- Larvacide – If you can’t eliminate standing water, you can ensure it isn’t going to be a suitable laying place for their eggs. Some outright poison eggs laid in the water, while others change the surface tension of the water, making it so the coating on insect eggs no longer offers the same level of protection. Make sure the deterrent you choose is appropriate for the size of the standing water and any other animals that may be present.
- Bring on the Birds – Some birds eat mature bugs. Others eat the larva or eggs. Adding bird houses and bird feeders brings the natural predators to their favorite food source. Talk to your local bird clubs to find out what species are native to your area and how best to encourage them to dine at your buffet.
Customized Swimming Pool Safety Barriers
If you want to keep bugs out of your swimming pool and protect your loved ones, we’re ready to help. Your local pool safety expert is your Lifeguard on Duty installer that both lives and works in your community. They’re passionate about helping you create a safer pool area, and it all starts with a free written estimate that tailors pool safety options to fit your swimming area’s needs. Request your no-cost, no-obligation estimate from Lifeguard on Duty today.
