Ducks are looking for a body of water to nest in since they migrate north during the warmer months. Since they supply a sufficient amount of water and seem to be secure, ducks are naturally drawn to backyard pools.
Do wild ducks or geese keep circling your in-ground or above-ground pool, causing you problems? They may be entertaining to watch or cute to look at, but if you find bird droppings or can’t enjoy your pool area in peace, problems may arise.
Once you see one duck, chances are more will follow once they think it’s safe from predators and other animals.
In our guide, you can find out more about how to deal with unwanted ducks. By the end, you’ll have plenty of tips and tricks on how to get rid of ducks in pool, and some deters animals and other critters as well. (Learn How Long Do Roosters Live)
Top Ways For Keeping Ducks Out Of Swimming Pools
If you have a few ducks paying your pool a visit, here are effective ways pool owners can deter ducks and other birds from their pool.
1. Use A Pool Cover
For a few reasons besides ways to keep ducks off your pool, it’s a great idea to use pool covers:
- This minimizes heat loss (which lowers heating bills)
- Water evaporation is reduced (which lowers water bills)
- Solar covers naturally keep your pool heated.
- Prevent debris, such as leaves, from entering the water.
- Most importantly, it forms a fence that keeps ducks from entering your pool.
Solar covers are even better because they stop water from evaporating and trap solar radiation to warm your water’s temperature by up to 15 degrees. You can choose a solar cover that best matches your pool because it comes in various sizes and forms.
Not only would a solar cover keep your pool warmer and prevent leaves and other debris from falling into it, but a pool cover is among the best ways to keep ducks from swimming in and pooping in the water.
2. Use Motion Activated Sprinklers
Although being unexpectedly doused in water isn’t as much fun, calm streams and ponds might welcome ducks. As their name suggests, a motion-activated sprinkler activates whenever they detect any kind of movement.
As a result, if you have a duck in pool or waddling around your pool area and activate it, the duck will be met with a sudden spray of water, which is typically enough to startle and scare the duck away. Thankfully, this is completely harmless to ducks, but it is more than enough to deter them from congregating. (Read Can Ducks See In The Dark)
3. Do Some Pool Maintenance With Robotic Pool Cleaner
An automatic pool cleaner works like a dog patrolling around your pool and prevents ducks from entering your swimming pool. Ducks are easily startled by automatic pool cleaners as they think they are a predator because they move unexpectedly in your pool and make weird noises.
The best part of this tip is that using your automatic pool cleaner keeps your water and pool clean while stopping ducks from ever landing in your pool; thus, doing so is a win-win situation.
Another benefit is that, unlike a dog, your automatic cleaner can work in hot weather where your dog would prefer to lie down and sleep.
4. Install Fake Predators To Keep Ducks Out Of Pool
You’ve probably seen these on rooftops or fences, and while they serve as great decor for your yard, they also serve a much bigger purpose. Plastic owls are strategically used for the same reasons you’d keep your dog, the pool cleaner, and a few floaties around your pool.
Owls are natural predators of ducks, so place a few plastic predators around your garden to keep ducks away from your backyard pool. One issue is if a fake natural predator decoy isn’t moved, ducks realize this and know they are not real.
5. Use Ultrasonic Pet Repellent
These devices work via motion sensor by emitting an ultrasonic, high-frequency sound that scares away pests and other small wild animals. And most of these products are solar-powered, so there are a few options to choose from to keep birds away.
Once they’re set up, any ducks that get too close will quickly be scared back into flight by the unexpected sound.
6. Keep A Clean Swimming Pool
Unbelievably, a bird’s decision to land in your pool is directly influenced by its physical and chemical purity. And it makes perfect sense because, at first glance, a duck can’t tell the difference between your pool and a pond.
Clean water doesn’t, however, look or smell exactly like pond water, which is what ducks want, according to an additional investigation by the ducks.
To keep a swimming pool clean and prevent ducks from assuming it’s a pond:
- Sweep the deck and remove all of the leaves and debris.
- Each week, clean the pool by vacuuming it.
- Keep leaves and other debris out of the water by skimming it.
- Each week, test the water and add more chemicals to keep it balanced and sterilized.
7. Plant Tall Shrubs And Trees
Ducks typically avoid densely forested areas because the branches of tall trees and shrubs obstruct their line of sight and make it challenging to spot incoming predators.
Keeping this in mind, it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to transform your backyard into the setting that ducks avoid at all costs. It suffices to plant a few trees and shrubs of good height around your pool area’s perimeter.
And if you’ve been thinking about doing some landscaping around your pool, you’ve undoubtedly already given some thought to this aspect of the project. From this point on, your next step should be to locate several suitable plants around pools and evaluate which ones have the most aesthetic appeal in the area.
NOTE: It is important to avoid planting any trees or plants in your yard that bear fruit because doing so will provide the ducks with a food source, increasing the likelihood that they will remain in your yard. (Read Can Ducks Change Gender)
8. Install Bird Netting Above Pool
Many pool owners use crisscrossed fishing line, which can operate as an invisible roof over your pool and possibly prevent ducks from landing. It acts as a barrier that the ducks might overlook. They won’t do it once they cross the lines. However, doing so requires a lot of work and can endanger incoming birds.
It is never advised to hang a clear fishing line over your pool; instead, installing bird netting carefully can be an excellent substitute.
The fishing line is inexpensive and easy to use but presents a serious safety risk. Most birds won’t notice it and fly right into it, becoming entangled. And at that point, you’re dealing with a much bigger issue.
Therefore, rather than dealing with all of that, pick bird netting that is easy and easy to remove should anything become stuck. Besides preventing ducks and other birds from landing in your pool, bird netting has several different purposes.
It will provide an additional layer of defense against falling leaves. This is an excellent option for you if you have a sizable tree around your swimming pool. These nets can be purchased at your neighborhood hardware store or garden center for a reasonable price.
It is easy to clean, although it can be made easier if you have a family member to help you.
9. Use Duck Off To Keep Ducks Away
You might be surprised to learn that a firm sells a liquid duck repellant explicitly designed for pools called “Duck Off” and is available from the local hardware store.
Duck Off is a product that was developed exclusively for birds in swimming pools, in contrast to the many other repellents for ducks that are available on the market today and can be sprayed on your yard’s grass and bushes to keep ducks away.
The duck Off duck repellent manufactured by Lo Chlor is safe for wildlife and people. It works by modifying your water’s surface tension, making it very difficult for ducks to float on the surface. After adding it to your water and letting your filter do its job, you should be set to go.
However, treatments such as Duck Off should only be used as a last resort because adding more chemicals to your pool can occasionally throw off the water’s natural equilibrium.
10. Add Pool Toys To Stop Ducks In Your Pool
Wild ducks avoid waters that are inhabited by a lot of different predators. Keep those toys in the pool when you’re not using certain inflatable animal toys, such as alligators, killer whales, snakes, and dolphins, to frighten away ducks. Sometimes this strategy is successful, although ducks may return as soon as the ducks learn that the floating pool toys are not a genuine danger to them.
11. Remove Anything That Attracts Birds
The presence of bird feeders and flowers in your yard makes it more appealing to the eye, but they also increase the likelihood that birds may choose to make your backyard their home.
Another reason for this is that if you use a bird feeder to provide
food for the ducks, you are essentially providing them with another motivation to return.
Why Do I Need to Keep Ducks out of My Pool?
You do have some good reasons for wanting to keep ducks out of your swimming pool, aside from the obvious one that they don’t belong there. (Learn How To Keep Frogs Out Of Pool)
It’s Not Healthy For Your Family
Birds are not an exception to the rule that many wild animals carry illnesses. Bird flu, salmonella, E. coli, and other viruses and germs that ducks and other birds spread can sicken people. Theoretically, your pool’s chlorine (or another sanitizer) will get rid of harmful contaminants, so you won’t have to worry about getting sick or infected.
However, your pool’s chlorine won’t be as successful at eliminating harmful bacteria and viruses if the amount is off.
Some of those substances are dispersed by animal waste. You can probably see where this is going: if the ducks defecate on your pool deck where there isn’t any chlorine, and you unintentionally step in it with bare feet.
Keeping ducks out of the pool entirely is your best strategy for preventing disease.
It’s Not The Healthiest Water For A Duck
Water is consumed by all species, including those that inhabit it. Ducks’ kidneys may get permanently damaged if they remain in your pool for an extended period and consume excessive amounts of chlorinated water.
Then, and this is even less enjoyable, you’ll need to understand how to remove dead ducks from your pool water. It’s actually not fun at all and no fun for the dead duck. Both you and the ducks benefit from keeping them out of your swimming pool. Another instance is if you have small ducklings in the water who can’t get out because of the high sides.
Here, you’ll need to carefully scoop them out and take them to a nearby lake or local pond.
Note: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 forbids shooting or harming migrating birds and disturbing, moving, or destroying their nests or eggs.
Best Solution To Keep Ducks Away
Simply scare away any ducks that are lingering in your pool or visiting it. All they want is a place to swim, eat, and reproduce. Just because they are swimming and peeing in your pool does not justify killing them.
It is usually preferable to prevent having them there. Let me know in the comments if you have further advice for keeping ducks away from pool pools.
