water bugs? Look here.

Guest · Postby **Guest** » Tue 07 Sep, 2010 15:44

Wow this should help! My daughter and her friend were swimming and my daughter said she saw two water boatmen. She had gone to summer camp many times and they went ponding so she knows what the look like. She fished a total of 6 out and there are still more!

hlj · Postby **hlj** » Fri 01 Oct, 2010 19:58

Your post makes the most sense. Today I thought I had multiple beehives in the corners of my pool, but it was those nasty boatmen. Thanks for the post!

Leeann · Postby **Leeann** » Mon 14 Mar, 2011 05:06

Here'a another quick tip for these annoying critters. take a spray bottle and mix regular dish detergent (i prefer dawn) and water. Spray the whole surface of your pool with this mixture, wait at least 12 hours and start fishing them out. Just for good measure I dump them in a bucket of oil and water and let the sit for a few more hours to make sure they're good and dead. The dish soap breaks down naturally in about 24 hours. I've never used any kind of bug guard, I just do this at the beginning of the season and then make sure I use algecide on a regular basis. Hope this helps!

Mac · Postby **Mac** » Thu 05 May, 2011 09:02

We have water boatmen as well and just cant get rid of them at the moment. I have asked my pool builder about them and he seems he has never experienced them; what a joke. So I called up few other pool builder and same thing; they just close a blind eye. It is amazing that people who have been in that business for years claim never to have heard of these bugs...

BotheredByBUGS · Postby **BotheredByBUGS** » Mon 13 Jun, 2011 08:21

Hello fellow Backswimmer haters! I have researched these bugs..and am here with answers to your problems!

How to know you have Backswimmers in YOUR pool: You may be confused with the look alike The Water Boatman. To make sure it is a Backswimmer..simly lift one of the tricky guys out of your pool with a net and lay it on the ground. Is it whitish looking with dark spots? if so.. its a Backswimmer!
Things you MUST know : Backswimmers DO bite! Ouchh! watch out for small children who like bugs! Their sting can feel like anything from getting poked with a small needle to a small bee sting.
To remove the little beasts: Well, when first opening your pool you may find several of them.. so shock your pool at least twice.. this will kill the small backswimmers.. and their babys. (they will float to the surface of your pool) to kill the large ones.. is a bit more difficult. You can go the easy way, and try a chemical you can buy from a pool store. (often called bugout) OR you can try catching them and killing them instantly. if you just fling them out.. must likley they will fly back in! (YES! THEY FLY!)This may take a couple days.. but now.. I DONT HAVE ANY MORE BUGS!

psimons · Postby **psimons** » Sat 18 Jun, 2011 03:56

There is a chemical you can buy from a company based in Arizona. It is called Bug Off and it really works. It is made by a company called Lo-Chlor Chemicals. I used it in my pool and the boatment all sink to the bottom of the pool and then you vacuum them or scoop them with up your net.

Hagioslife · Postby **Hagioslife** » Thu 07 Jul, 2011 18:50

Hello! I searched the web for the water bugs in the pool but nothing looks like the one that is in my pool!
There is now more then 80,I think!! They are pretty small. And it lives outside the water and jumps!
I'm stepping on them!help!!!!!!

shepp5 · Postby **shepp5** » Wed 20 Jul, 2011 22:39

Does this work with a salt generated pool? I have them BAD. Pool company does not recommend that I do anything but take them out by net. My chlorine is high enough and adding more would not be healthy. They do not recommend algecide. I cannot be taking 100's of backswimmers out of my pool every day.

Big Ron · Postby **Big Ron** » Sat 10 Sep, 2011 17:45

I'm surprised nobody knows about Skill-it. Go to Leslie's Pool Supply (Google it) and get a chemical called "Skill-it". Works like magic. The bugs pack up and leave. You need to get rid of the algae. I didn't see Skill it on their website but the individual stores sell it.

creid · Postby **creid** » Wed 13 Jun, 2012 07:46

Any of Sani Marc's Algaecides work to solve this problem. Tried and proven!!

LLJ · Postby **LLJ** » Sun 12 Aug, 2012 15:47

My above ground pool has been up for exactly 24 hours and I have already found 3 water bugs in it. Where do they come from???? Why are they already in my pool, it barley has water in it and there they are!!!!!

Darbie · Postby **Darbie** » Thu 06 Sep, 2012 12:38

I have these itsy, bitsy water bug that float on top of our pool. The bugs hop and skip on top of the water. They do not bit. They love to hang out by the hundreds around the steps of my pool. They are very tiny. Any idea what they can be? They look like fleas.
Thanks

Still have Problem! · Postby **Still have Problem!** » Fri 13 Jun, 2014 12:17

I have read your Post, I have tried all of the things listed. We have an above ground Pool. We do not have an Algae Problem, never have. We have it Chemically Balanced, Some Hardness. We run our Pump at night for the most part. When we turn the Pump off is when we start seeing the Bugs. Can they live in the Filter or Piping, is it possible to have Algae in these areas?? Need all the help I can get!!!
Desperate in Tonopah. :oops:

Shella · Postby **Shella** » Fri 04 Jul, 2014 13:47

I am a new pool owner and found a water bug in the pool last night. My husband put it in the sewer system after we scooped it from the pool.. Will it come back? are there more? we have a pool guy that test the pool every week and shocks or treats the pool to keep it stable. We also have half chlorine and half ultraviolet system.... does that make a difference? One last question... We have a Moss Rock Water Fall on one end of the pool... the pool guy said the bug was living there... Are we feeding the bugs with the "Moss rocks"... there is moss growing on the rocks?

fred246 · Postby **fred246** » Thu 05 Nov, 2015 16:57

man I wish there was an easy solution. the bugs are driving me nuts and no definitive answer or magic solution.
oh well.... :wtf: