To maintain a pool you must have a routine. You brush the walls and floor and you drop in your robotic vacuum. Then maybe you start to test the water. Eventually, you make your way over to the skimmers and pull open the lid. If you keep finding frogs in your skimmers you are probably wondering how to keep frogs out of pool. One of the most frustrating parts of pool ownership is the critters you find in the pool itself. So how do you keep frogs out of the pool anyway?
How To Keep Frogs Out Of Pool Near Conservation/Natural Habitats
If you live in an area with conservation land or you know you have vernal pools or other natural frog habitat, there is literally nothing you can do, nor should do. Frogs in the pool will have to be one of the things you need to deal with. All we can suggest in this case is to buy a tool that’ll make cleaning the skimmers easier. That way you don’t have to grab the frogs with your bare hands. The Skimmie is a great tool for doing just this.
What happens if you’ve determined you are not in natural frog habitat? You can look at your perimeter fence and see if there is a way to block it off to prevent frogs from making their way onto your property. Unless you have a masonry perimeter wall, this is highly unlikely. Even if you do have a concrete wall surrounding your property there is always the gates, and frogs and toads will always seem to find their way in.
3 Easy Ways How To Keep Frogs Out Of Pool
Over the course of our 20+ years in the pool industry, we’ve found a few tips and tricks on how to keep frogs out of pool areas. Here are three ways that we’ve found effective. None of these ideas are singular in nature. You could combine two or all three of them together.
Add A Mesh Fence
You can try a few simple measures if you think you know where they are coming into your property. A small mesh fence, partially buried to block off their access points will work in many cases. Make sure it is tall enough to prevent their jumping over, and partially buried so they can’t burrow into the earth if they’re persistent. If you have a wood fence, you can always add a board that’s partially buried at ground level to block off the frog access points.
Incorporate A Prey Decoy
Next, consider using a decoy bird of prey. Either an owl or a hawk will do the trick. Preferably choose the decoy with a motorized head that’ll give the impression the bird is looking around. If you have one with sounds accompanying it or a separate ultrasonic system that’s helpful also. Of course if this will irritate you while you swim you can switch it off when you’re in the backyard. Frogs will likely stay away while you swim in the pool if they’re not already in the water. Make sure you relocate the decoy regularly.
Build An Additional Water Feature
If you have a place on your property where you can build a koi pond or water feature, you may want to consider it. Sometimes creating the ideal habitat for frogs will keep them out of the swimming pool. If they have a place to be that’s shallow and easy to access, they will be more likely to remain in an environment which suits them better. Sometimes the answer for how to keep frogs out of pool is to build the frogs a pool of their own.
Things To Avoid For Repelling Frogs From Your Pool
Though none of the above will be a silver bullet for how to keep frogs out of pool, you may reduce the number you see. We don’t recommend chemical treatments or salting the earth (literally suggested by some) for keeping frogs away. Salt and vinegar are effective at keeping amphibians away from your property, but in many cases the reason is you have killed them.
Amphibians naturally absorb much of their nutrient requirements directly from the water. They are incredible animals, and by forcing them to absorb too much salt, or by burning their skin with acidic vinegar, we think that’s inhumane and do not recommend it.
How To Keep Frogs Out Of Pool Summary
Unfortunately, frogs love swimming pools. However, with minimal effort, you can discourage frogs from visiting your pool. Adding a small mesh fence, prey decoy or new water feature will all help. Never use chemical treatments to combat frogs in your pool. Understand that frogs an annoying quirk of having a pool in your backyard.
