I don’t think there’s anyone who wants to swim in a pool with frogs or frog eggs. Would you? I don’t think so! If this is your first time to have frogs in your swimming pool, you’re probably wondering why. Well, it should not surprise you as pool frogs are quite common. Almost every pool owner deals with this problem each season. Apparently, according to research, frogs love the crystal clear water for its comfortability, food richness (bugs), and free of predicators. I didn’t even know that.
Even though most frogs don’t pose any serious threat to our health, having one in your pool is a bit icky. Fishing these little things out of the pool can be unsuccessful, considering they know how to swim. I believe you’re reading this post because you’re struggling with frogs in your pool water. Right? Well, you’re in the right place. Welcome. I will advise you on the best way to get rid of frogs in your pool water, take you through ways frogs get in your swimming pool, and reasons why you don’t want frogs in your pool.
Why Are Frogs in Your Pool?
There are a couple of reasons why frogs love pool water because they do not know how to differentiate between a clean, chlorinated swimming pool and that natural murky pond. It can also be that pool water tends to be an abundant food source for the frogs – bugs and insects love the clean, clear water. That’s why you’ll find floating insects and bugs on the pool water even when the skimmer is on.
The frogs come to hunt the bunch of water-loving bugs and flying insects hovering around the swimming pool. Another reason you might find frogs in your pool water is leaving the pool lights on all night. The light attracts bugs and other animals, including the frogs.
Why is it never a Good Idea to Have Frogs in Your Pool?
Yes, frogs can benefit as they can help you eliminate those flying insects out of your pool water. They also do not pose any threat to human health. Despite some rumors, they are not poisonous. However, they are said to carry some bacteria on the body from all the hanging out on the ground and swimming in the dirt. But when the water is appropriately balanced, sanitized well, these shouldn’t be a problem.
Despite all that, you shouldn’t allow frogs to stay in your pool water. You might be a frog lover or enthusiast, but most people become icky when they see a frog. You shouldn’t consider your likes only and forget you might be sharing your swimming pool with friends. Here are additional reasons why you shouldn’t want frogs to have a stay in your pool water.
#a) Will Lay Eggs in Your Pool Water
As we all know, frogs are not mammals but amphibians. They reproduce by laying and hatching eggs, which becomes tadpoles and grow to adult frogs. They do not lay the eggs anywhere; it’s must be in the water. Why? Frogs eggs have a membrane cover, not a shell. That means, if left in the air on the ground, they dry out and kill the tadpoles in them.
Frogs eggs are round, whitish balls with a black thing inside and attached by a jelly-like cloud. Depending on the frog species, a mature female can lay anything between 2 to 50k eggs in a single round. After laying, she may float or sink the eggs to the pool bottom with the jelly-like cloud.
If you come across these in your pool water, you can decide to destroy them or use a skimmer to relocate them to a more appropriate environment for them to hatch. You can take frogs to the nearest pond or in a shallow kiddie filled with water enough to cover them.
#b) May Die in Your Pool
When frogs get inside the pool water, finding the way out can be tricky. The pool edges might be too high for them to jump out. They might also not see the steps, and if they do, they might not think to connect to jump out step by step.
When they try and fail, they get desperate and start swimming all around, looking for a better way out. After rotating the pool all night, they get tired, exhausted, and drown.
When you wake up the next day, you get a dead frog floating on the water or skimmed by the pool skimmer. It can be quite sad for a frog lover and gross disposing of the dead buddy. It’s best to do all you can to keep them out.
Ways on How to Get Rid of Frogs in Pool
Skimming the frogs out has proven to be a tough task for many pool owners. Skimming the frog eggs out of the pool water won’t scare the frogs away. So, what do you do to get rid of frogs in your pool? Here are top ways on how you can get keep frogs out of your swimming pool.
#1) Use a Cover
One of the best ways to get rid of frogs from your swimming pool and proven to be quite useful is installing a pool cover. When you cover it, the frogs will find it hard to get inside the pool water considering the limited entrance path. What’s more, it helps in keeping the bugs out of the pool water. The lesser the bugs, the less often the frogs will try to get in your pool.
A standard pool cover is easy to install and also remove. It needs to be fastened securely and adequately to prevent children and animals from slipping under it accidentally and getting trapped in the pool. You can even decide to consider the use of a pool safety cover for peace of mind.
The covers are made in such a way that they keep things from falling inside the pool water. And since they are pulled taut, it becomes almost impossible for a child or animals to squeeze in between the ground and the cover.
The best pool blanket will cover your pool and deliver the solar heating ideal for increasing the water temperature for up to 15°F. It will also help you prevent water and chemical evaporation by 95%. And you know what, the evaporation reduction will save you money and time.
#2) Install a Fence
A pool fence is an ideal way to provide safety and security around your swimming pool. What you may not have known is, it can also be a great way to prevent frogs from entering your pool water. It’ll help keep small kids, cheeky neighbors, and pets out of your pool area. What’s more, it helps prevent all types of critters from finding their way to your swimming pool.
However, not all pools can work for frogs and small animals. If you use chain link or iron bars, the frogs will easily find their way to the water. You need to use solid wood attached to eliminate any spaces or use vinyl fencing.
#3) Weed all-round the pool
Apart from the insects in your pool, another frog inviting factor is the weeds around your swimming pool. It provides the right place for the frogs to hide as they wait to jump into the swimming pool. Next time you’re out landscaping your pool surroundings, you may want to clear the area around, cutting all the tall grass and weeding the weeds.
Some environmentalists advocate using ammonia-based fertilizer such as Calcium Nitrate Solution Grade Fertilizer to minimize the frog population in your backyard. It helps in killing them since ammonium nitrate fertilizer is typically toxic to frogs. If you have a frog or animal lover, then refrain from using the fertilizer as it kills the frogs horribly and painfully.
Another thing, if you don’t like scooping dead animals, in this case, dead frogs, you may want to keep them alive. Remember, they do help in eliminating bugs. You can simply divert them to a more appropriate area, which is the next point.
#4) Create an Alternative Habitat
Creating an alternative habitat for the frogs isn’t for everyone. If you care for these small animals, you can consider creating a small pond in your backyard that’s more attractive to frogs. Remember you’ll have to deal with the noises they make during the night.
While making the pond, ensure you line it with some greens and flowers. Also include some stones and logs for helping the frogs to climb out of the pond water. Another thing, ensure it is some distance away from your swimming pool.
#5) Keep the Water Moving: Install a Water Feature
Insects tend to take residence around stagnant and standing water. If you keep your pool water flowing, it will help keep them away. And because frogs are more attracted to the pool water because of food, deterring the insects away would help somehow. You can keep the water moving by connecting a timer to your pool pump to keep the water moving several times during the night. However, this might not be ideal for keeping these pets away.
I have a better solution – you can install a water feature. Insects can’t settle on moving water. They need a place they can lay eggs. The more eggs laid, the insects hatched, and meaning the more frogs will be attracted to your swimming pool. You can add the best pool fountain or a waterfall to move the water around and keep the insects from finding a spot to rest and lay eggs. You can also set a time to run a couple of times throughout the night.
#6) Turn Off Pool Lights
As you might notice from your security lights, there are lots of insects flying around it at night. The lights might provide something new to the pool landscaping in your backyard and pool deck. However, similar to the security lights, the pool lights do attract lights – they work as an insect attraction to your swimming pool and send an invitation to hanging-around frogs. You can turn the pool lights off when you’re not using it. That will mean no bugs, no frogs.
#7) Heat Your Pool Water
Do frogs love cold water? Is it because they are cold-blooded? No! According to the little science I know, frogs use their skin to get oxygen. Their skin is permeable, allowing them to absorb oxygen from cold water directly through it.
You might not know that cold water has more dissolved oxygen than warm or hot water. That means the colder the water, the more the oxygen in it. That becomes a better environment for the frogs, tadpoles, and eggs. It’s especially necessary when hibernating.
Heating the pool water is a good idea, but it might not work ultimately, especially if it’s not wintering when frogs are searching for an oxygen-rich environment for hibernation. And you know what, if you live in a place where the weather is warm, then you may not need to heat the water.
If you do not live in this area, you can heat pool water in these few ways:
Use a solar pool cover: the best bubble-wrap-like floating cover will help keep your pool warm while keeping the frogs out.
Use a liquid solar cover: I love the best liquid cover because they are inexpensive, but you should know they don’t create a physical barrier.
Use solar rings: the best solar rings are reasonably inexpensive and create a physical barrier, but with spaces – not a solid one.
Use a pool heater: Yes, the best pool heater (electric or solar) can be expensive, and no physical barrier provided. However, pool heaters are more efficient in heating the water than liquid covers or solar rings.
#8) Buy a Frog Log
If the frogs are already in your pool and are looking for the best way to get rid of them, you can get a frog log. The best frog log, a critter net, or even a rescue ramp can be placed near the pool edge. It gets held down by weights and does attach to a ramp or a pad that floats on the pool water.
And since frogs, just like other climbing animals, will climb on to the pad and find its way out of the pool. That means you won’t have to deal with dead frogs in your pool water and no guilt. The best part is, it’s an inexpensive method.
You can buy more than one and place them all-round your pool for effectiveness. It’s truly an affordable method compared to buying a heater or installing a fence. However, it might not eliminate the frog eggs.
#9) Try Home Remedies
If the above method might not work for you (unlikely), here are some home remedies you can try. The benefits of these methods are that they won’t harm your children, pets, and even the frogs. They work by repelling them.
Salt: Salt is never friendly to frogs – they will avoid anything that has salt at all costs. You should know that in high doses, salt can also be harmful to plants. You need to be extra careful. The best way is to either sprinkle some around the pool deck or cement path edges or simply shake a saltwater solution bottle and spray these same areas.
Vinegar: Vinegar has an irritant property that doesn’t go well with the frog’s skin. Here, you need to fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and then spray it in frogs’ hotspots and all-around your pool. You should repeat this every night to keep these small animals away.
Coffee: Coffee works similarly as vinegar. It does also irritate the frogs’ skin. All you need to do here is sprinkle some used coffee grounds all-round the pool, grass, and plants surrounding the swimming pool. The best part about this method is, the coffee grounds contain nitrate, ideal food for plants.
Final Verdict!
And that’s how you can get rid of frogs out of your swimming pool. Everything I have listed here is simple and straightforward. Nothing complicated that you cannot handle. What I love about this topic is that you get to know how your backyard layout and get to interact with these small bug-eating animals. When handled with care, frogs can help you get rid of insects around the house. However, be ready for the disturbing noise they make during the night.
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