birds pooping over my inground pool

The basics of swimming pool maintenance.
New swimming pool owner's questions.
Help getting started with daily pool care.
CindyM

Bird poop

Postby CindyM » Fri 01 Jul, 2011 09:25

I have had an above ground pool for 18 years and started having problems with grackles dropping poop in it after planting a row of evergreens behind the pool. They are now 20+ feet tall and they nest in them too high for me to disrupt them. I get an average of 30 droppings a day. One day I sat by the pool and read to guard it. I saw a grackle land on the edge of the pool with something in it's mouth. Before it flew off it dropped it in the pool. I checked it out and sure enough, it was poop!
I called a park naturalist and asked what I could do and what was going on. She said that for two weeks after their young hatch they are cleaning their nests of waste. In about two weeks it should end. And... It did.
The owl has never worked against them. Leaving the solar blanket or winter cover isn't a perfect solution either. They cover with it with droppings and with rain water thrown in, it is hard to remove them without dumping a bunch in the pool.
I continue to try finding an inexpensive solution. There are motion detector products that emit predator sounds. Has anyone tried one and does it work?


crystalclear
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue 14 Jun, 2011 14:50
Location: austin, tx

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby crystalclear » Thu 07 Jul, 2011 12:48

Loose all bird seed, adopt some squirrels, get a dog

Birds are something that are hard to contest with unless you go out of your way to combat them
cpo2go
Swimming Pool Wizard
Swimming Pool Wizard
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed 20 Jul, 2011 01:09
My Pool: 27,000 gal, pebble tec, all Pentair equipment; DE filter, 3/4 hp, 400k heater, Poolvergnuegen 4x Pool Cleaner
Location: santa barbara, ca
Contact:

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby cpo2go » Wed 20 Jul, 2011 02:26

It's only a seasonal problem related to the birds migration. I know what a hassle it is but, I've never heard of a decent solution. Each pool and it's surroundings are different.
I've seen people hang netting, put beach balls in the pool, floating fountains and one family had a motion sensor which connects to their garden hose and it sprays when triggered. They use it for ducks, which are larger. I'm not sure how it would work for smaller birds.
http://www.cpo2go.com
Pool and Spa Water Care Simplified.
Easy to use, fast results.
flowers

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby flowers » Wed 18 Apr, 2012 21:30

I have this same problem with black birds! They clean the fledglings droppings from the nests and put it on the pool edge!!! It is not a matter of pool condition or PH, or anything but bird house keeping, at our expense.
I have found that mid spring, sunglasses, hat, and long sleeves with my ladder, and use my pool poles to knock the nests from the trees. This helps a great deal. If you do this to early they lay more eggs, and too late the babies have hatched.
I have heard plastic snakes work, and also plastic alligators deter them. I'm going to try this, because they are hard to shoot.
I would appreciate any other solutions that don't recommend waiting for them to fly away....
poolgal541

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby poolgal541 » Sun 13 May, 2012 07:46

This it the third year of this for us. Nobody around here had ever heard of black birds doing this. Apparently the birds are cleaning out the nest and are spewing the droppings from the nest into the pool When the babies are big enough to leave the nest, the birds will leave the pool alone. I HATE BLACK BIRDS!
cpo2go
Swimming Pool Wizard
Swimming Pool Wizard
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed 20 Jul, 2011 01:09
My Pool: 27,000 gal, pebble tec, all Pentair equipment; DE filter, 3/4 hp, 400k heater, Poolvergnuegen 4x Pool Cleaner
Location: santa barbara, ca
Contact:

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby cpo2go » Sun 20 May, 2012 14:38

I have gotten products from these guys at some of my commercial pools and it has worked for me/them. http://www.bird-x.com/
http://www.cpo2go.com
Pool and Spa Water Care Simplified.
Easy to use, fast results.
Pat S

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby Pat S » Fri 25 May, 2012 15:27

problem solved!!

I bought a $4 blow-up shark (looks like Jabber Jaw) and it is about 4 feet long. I placed him in the pool
and the birds stopped pooping in the pool immediately. It has now been 3 weeks and the pool is clean. Some little birds still poop on the edge of the pool, but I can deal with that.

My shark has 24/7 duty and he doesn't eat much.
been hit too

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby been hit too » Thu 07 Jun, 2012 17:57

If you notice, they mostly bomb on approach from one direction. Try to disrupt their flight path with poles and nets,..or something tall. Yes,...that is a gross and filthy habit they have.
User avatar
rosalind
Pool Care Proficient
Pool Care Proficient
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu 10 May, 2012 01:26
My Pool: Private pool with 3.7 × 7.3 m
Location: India

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby rosalind » Sun 17 Jun, 2012 23:49

dirt sweeper wrote:why is it that these black birds are pooping in the pool. I hosed off the pool deck this morning and came home and found 9 new droppings. Is this a game for these guys or what??? It could be that I cut down the huge Maple tree next to the pool last year and they are really ticked off..don't know



Well, I suggest you to put pool covers. It is will protect your pool from the problem of birds pooping. Moreover, using a pool cover like this will save you from expenses that you used to pay.
Gavin Wills
Pool Enthusiast
Pool Enthusiast
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat 28 Nov, 2009 17:01
My Pool: verification was 100% wrong it asked me is there a P
in pH but it is clearly not a P it is a p. The 2nd one asked me the colour of a nice clean pool, I was wrong again! there are many different colors it could be.A black epoxy coating will change from dark blue to greeny blue to bluey gray greeny gray ect it all depends on the colour of the sky and the angle you look at it. anyway I'll get the next one right, I will just be a robot and answer the way I am supposed too
Location: Australia

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby Gavin Wills » Wed 27 Jun, 2012 01:37

Benzaconium Chloride wrecks the down in there feathers and they don't come back until next year then you do it again,safe for humans,it is a winteriser that saves on chlorine. 9m x 4.5m pool 1m to 2m deep use 1.5 litres
GLITTER

birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby GLITTER » Mon 27 May, 2013 21:33

I have had my pool for more than 30 years but this is the first year that I have blackbirds crap in it. My cat killed the contents of one nest but the population and number of nests of these little bastards is beyond the appetite of my killer feline. I pay monthly for pool service so the cost becomes unbearable because the pool guy sweeps only to have them dirty it immediately after.
It is my understanding that they are protected by law so I can't shoot them. They are violent and peck my dear kitty when he tries to protect my pool. They have been here for too long and need to fly South. This is almost worse than the movie "The Birds". If anyone finds a solution, please post it for all us victims to read.
tiredofbirdpoop

Re: birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby tiredofbirdpoop » Wed 18 May, 2016 13:42

after years of putting up with poop bombs and tryings all sorts of nonsense to prevent it, I resorted to a sure fire fix. A .22 rifle. Last year I killed over 60 grackles and 35 so far this year. We've had about a dozen poop bombs this year before it stopped. Typically we get 1,000 poop bombs in about 3 wks. Not with this sure fire remedy. Thanks for not coming up with anything better. Now finally, we can enjoy a clean poop free pool.
DavidSwimmer
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun 16 Oct, 2016 20:24

Re: birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby DavidSwimmer » Sun 16 Oct, 2016 20:48

Hi everyone,

I have to chime in here. I tried a lot of these ideas and had no luck for any extended period of time. I even tried a bb gun with a laser site mounted on it! I thought that was sure to scare the pigeons away...

Nope! All I did was decimate one population until a new flock came in a couple weeks later. It was so frustrating.

I finally broke down and put in a full screen enclosure. It wasn't cheap, but I'm so happy I did. Those bird droppings were becoming a serious health concern. (And the added bonus is no mosquitoes now either! That's good news for us down in "Zika-ville" - aka south FL.)

The wife and kids love it--even if we're not actually swimming but just relaxing outside or barbecuing, etc.

(If you're curious, ours is the third picture you see in the carousel: http://palmbeachpatioscreens.com )

If anyone has any questions about costs or other concerns I'm happy to supply more info, just PM me.

But the main takeaway is a permanently "poopless pool" was worth the expense to us.
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2592
Joined: Tue 06 Sep, 2011 05:48
My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Re: birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby Denniswiseman » Mon 17 Oct, 2016 03:11

And it keeps leaves debris and other unwanted guests
DavidSwimmer
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun 16 Oct, 2016 20:24

Re: birds pooping over my inground pool

Postby DavidSwimmer » Tue 18 Oct, 2016 13:06

Denniswiseman wrote:And it keeps leaves debris and other unwanted guests


Yes. It has been a godsend. I figure it will pay for itself over about 5 years. But it's 5 years of reduced cleaning bills (and BB pellets expense!) and wayyy less hassle.

-DS

Return to “Basics for New Pool Owners”

Who is online at the Pool Help Forum

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests