Last Updated on October 19, 2021
Having a swimming pool in your backyard is every family’s dream. Being able to swim and retreat to your pool area on a hot day is a very relaxing experience.
However, a lot of money, time, and effort is required to have a pool and maintain it properly. It would be a problem if something or someone would mess things up in your ideal outdoor space.
One of the massive disturbances and serious dilemma to pool owners are ducks. Ducks are friendly to humans, but they can turn your pristine pool and yard into a messy and disgusting place.
It’s safe to assume that your backyard along with your swimming pool is the ideal place for ducks to build their nest. It serves as a protected haven, water resource, and comes with vegetation that ducks need to raise their brood and keep them safe from predators.
Why Should You Keep Ducks Out Your Pool?
Some may be wondering what the problem is with ducks in the swimming pool. Ducks are cute and fun to watch when they waddle from time to time in a pond. But it is no longer fun and cute when you have to deal with duck noise and droppings in and around your “supposed to be” clean and clear pool water. There are several reasons why you should keep your ducks from building a nest in your pool area.
The first reason would be ducks are persistent creatures. Once they’ve established a sense of security in your pool area, it would be difficult for you to eliminate them without taking severe actions.
Second, as ducks can be categorized as wildlife, it increases the chance for diseases like salmonella and E. coli to spread on your property. The good thing here is when they come in contact with your pool maintained with proper chlorine level, some bacteria will die instantly.
Finally, ducks can contaminate your pool water by bringing in chemicals such as phosphates and nitrates.
So, instead of just shooing them away, you must find a way to keep them out of your pool permanently.
Now, there are various ways you can do to enjoy a peaceful and clean pool area whenever you want, free of duck poop and duck noise. We’ve shared some of the most successful ones here.
Successful Methods On How To Keep Ducks Out of A Pool
1. Put some animal toy around your pool area
- Bring a little colorful, friendly gator fun to your next pool or lake adventure with this delightful inflatable
- Room for multiple riders; constructed of durable, 12-gauge vinyl with two air chambers
- Includes repair patch kit
- Measures 45 by 80 inches (W x D)
Wild ducks do not like to be near their natural predators. If the water they wanted to swim has predators in them, they will look for another place to float and swim on.
If you cannot cover your pool entirely, try having inflatable animals in your pool to keep these types of birds away. There are plenty of inflatable animal toys to choose from, such as alligators, snakes, or dolphins.
For this method to succeed, the ducks should not figure out that the floating animals are not moving. Otherwise, they can be aggravating to penetrate the pool and defy the inflatable animal toy’s presence.
2. Use an Automatic Pool Cleaner in your swimming pool
- Drop and go. Easy to use, single button plug and play in-ground robotic pool cleaner ideal for pools up to 50 feet; backed by a 3 year quality assurance.
- CleverClean delivers a smart and efficient clean using advanced algorithms for complete pool coverage. Anti-tangle patented swivel cable allows your Dolphin to move around your pool with ease.
- Powerful, dual scrubbing brushes forcefully attack tough dirt and debris leaving your swimming pool floor, walls and waterline exceptionally clean in 3 hours.
- Multiple filter options for an optimal clean pool. The Premier comes standard with three filter options: bottom-load fine cartridge filters, ultra-fine cartridge filters, and an oversized fine filter...
Ducks are pretty easy to scare. Though the automatic pool cleaner’s appearance will not scare them away, the loud and noisy vacuum sound would do the trick.
A robotic pool cleaner can be pretty expensive, but the double benefit of keeping the pool clean and keeping the ducks away is a great investment that you can pursue.
Be sure to check our guide here regarding the best robotic pool cleaners available today.
3. Get a dog in your pool area
Having a dog in your household is another successful way to keep the ducks away from your pool. It can also help keep other wild animals away. As mentioned earlier, having a “predator” within the vicinity will definitely scare the ducks away. A fake one might not work, but a real one like a barking dog is a guarantee to keep them away for good.
The trick is to have a dog that is known to bark and chase the ducks. Some of the best breeds that come to mind are beagles and Labrador retrievers. Keep in mind that your dog should be able to do this without actually hurting the ducks in the process.
4. Use Duck Off in your pool
As ducks are seen to be a common annoyance for pool owners worldwide, there is no doubt that there is a product readily available in the market to specifically address the “duck problem.”
Duck Off is the name of this product that breaks the water’s surface tension and makes it uncomfortable for ducks to swim in the pool.
For this product to work its purpose, you should consistently use it so the ducks would figure out later on that the pool is no longer suitable for them to use. Once they realized that, you won’t see any duck droppings in your pool area and you can enjoy your outdoor space in peace.
5. Keep your pool clean at all times
Having a properly maintained pool can be a natural deterrent for ducks. This means that your pool should be free from any floating debris or things such as sticks or leaves and should have an adequate chlorine level to eliminate bacteria and disease.
Ducks instinctively prefer pond water. Pond water has a smelly odor, and you can spot floating things. Having clean water with proper chlorine levels can be enough to keep the ducks away since it doesn’t smell or look like pond water.
6. Put a plastic owl in your pool area
- Bird Repellent Garden Protectors: Horned Owl statue set could scares away the animals like birds, pests, squirrel, raccoons, and more. Keep all pests and birds away effortlessly.
- High Quality: Measures: 10.5 in Height x 5.2 in Width. Made of sturdy molded plastic and seems very realistic, scare away birds effectively. These two realistic owl statues have the iconic eagle beak,...
- Great Design: Bottom tab for filling with sand to weight for more stability. Eco-friendly and wildlife friendly -- get rid of birds and pests humanely without harming them. Can also easily placing the...
- Stylish Decoration: Can be placed in the garden, patio, or porch. Also could be placed in indoor to decorate your living room, hall, restaurant, hotel. With our scarecrow owl, you don't have to worry...
Owls are one of the known duck predators. Good thing that owls are often stationary. It might not be easy for ducks to figure out that the owl they see lurking around the pool area is fake.
Having plastic owls lurking around your pool area can be enough to scare them away. For this method’s success, you should consider putting up decoys that move their heads and make a hooting sound. Having several of these around your pool area wouldn’t be a bad choice either.
7. Remove any duck-enticing stuff in your backyard
There is no doubt that having flowers or bird feeders in your pool area is a means of attraction for ducks and birds. So you better get rid of these things because you do not want them to find something that can cause them to stay and mess up your pool.
8. Cover your pool with bird nets
- 【Heavy Duty Bird Netting】 Made of nylon multifilament net which is UV-proof, our lightweight but heavy duty bird net won't tangle and tear easily, highly durable and reusable, stronger than...
- 【Effective Protection】Our 2.4 inch mesh netting provides maximum protection without harming birds and small animals or interfering with plant growth. Bird netting as an outdoor cover like a fence,...
- 【Muitiple Use】This orchard net is used as blueberry netting, tomatoes netting, cherry netting and bird nettting for fruit trees , koi pond netting, cover on chicken coop run, deer fence, ect....
- 【Easy To Install】With durable 50pcs cable ties and 8 stakes are included, which make sure that your netting secure to tree branches, fences. Or you can cut it to any size you need with scissors to...
This method can be done by having a netted pool cover. The netting can act as a roof for the pool.
If properly installed, it should keep ducks away from your swimming pool permanently. It also helps in keeping leaves from falling into your pool.
9. Use a solar pool cover
- ATTRACTIVE BLUE DESIGN - Sun2Solar solar blankets are made from a film of thousands of tiny bubbles, which work together to collect and retain heat both at night and on those chilly days. The blue...
- MINIMIZE WATER EVAPORATION - The use of a solar cover helps in preventing up to 95% of pool water evaporation. When not enjoying a refreshing swim, keeping your pool covered lessens the vast amount of...
- JUMP INTO WARMTH - Show friends and family your bravery by jumping in without the standard toe dip. Enter the swimming pool confidently knowing the Sun2Solar solar cover has kept the water warm just...
- HEAT RETENTION - After everyone has called it a day with wrinkled fingers from too much fun in the sun, make sure to place this solar cover back atop the water. Don’t lose all of that warmth...
Another great solution to keep ducks out of a pool is to make use of a good solar pool cover. This will keep ducks from landing on your pool water and if they don’t have access to your swimming pool, there’s no reason for them to stay.
Pool covers also help in keeping debris out of your pool, so it’s a great tool to keep your pool clean.
Do you have any successful experience keeping ducks away from your pool area? Feel free to share them in the comments section below.