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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.