How to Keep Snakes Out of Pool

One of the creatures you don’t want to see in your pool is a snake. Although snakes look fantastic and are loved by many, they are not fit for pools as they can cause harm to swimmers.

To keep snakes out of your pool, you should ensure you have snake repellents or plants around that can make them avoid your pool. Besides, Your environment must have well-trimmed plants and must be debris-free.

Can Snake Enter Pools?

Before even delving into keeping snakes out of the pool, it’s important to clarify if snakes can really enter pools. According to experts, snakes will do everything to avoid a pool that has been treated with chlorine due to how poisonous the treatment is to them. Nevertheless, snakes can at times accidentally fall into your swimming pool when chasing their meals and become trapped. In some other situations, snakes that love water will deliberately come around to enjoy the pool.

Why Do Snakes Enter Pools?

There are several reasons snakes can enter your pool. Knowing these reasons may help you understand how to keep them out. Below are the common reasons:

1. Snakes find water helpful: Water is useful to snakes because they find it helpful when it comes to them shedding their skin. When snakes soak in water, their skin is loosened up, making shedding easy. Since your pool is an available water reservoir, snakes may enter to help themselves.
2. Love for moist environments:  Unlike other snakes that prefer land, some snakes like staying in environments where there is enough water. When you see these snakes in your pool, they come because they enjoy staying in the water. Most times, this occurs when there is heavy rainfall. The sudden abundance of water can make them leave their homes and find their way into your pool.
3. Entered accidentally: Snakes may sometimes find themselves in your pool by accident. This may be that they fall into the pool by mistake when trying to catch prey. These snakes may become trapped therein because they can’t find their way out of it. This is common with snakes that are weak when it comes to swimming and not familiar with deep water bodies.

How to Keep Snakes From Entering Pools

There is a higher probability that snakes may enter your pool after opening it when the weather is becoming warmer. As cold-blooded animals, you may likely see them sunbathing on the patio close to your pools. So, what can you do to keep them from entering your pools?

1. Make your pool free of shrubbery and bushes: You must ensure that there are no shrubs or bushes near your pool area. This is because they can serve as hiding places for snakes. If you don’t provide an opportunity for them to hide, the less you will see them around.
2. Ensure that the lawn is mowed regularly: It’s advisable to keep your environment from having tall grasses. Long grass is an attractant to snakes as they see it as a cover place. Besides, long grass houses prey (frogs, mice, and insects) that can attract snakes.

Therefore, it’s crucial that you mow your lawn from time to time, particularly during summer and spring. Snakes don’t see small grass as appealing and a place to seek protection from humans or other predators.

• Use a flashing infrared system: The installation of an infrared system can help keep snakes out. How does it work? The system is meant to create a pulsing light that snakes can easily detect to scare them away.
• Use sprinklers designed with built-in infrared beams: Snakes tend to keep off when threatened. Installing an auto sprinkler that makes a sudden burst of water after detecting the movement of these creatures can scare them off.
• Use a natural repellent: There are potent repellents you can use to keep snakes away from entering your pool. The popular ones include white vinegar and ammonia. By sprinkling them around your pool area in the evening, you can stop the snakes from entering the water reservoir.

Why do snakes hate natural repellents? Snake’s skin is liquid absorbent, so by sprinkling ammonia and white vinegar close to the pool, snakes won’t attempt crawling close.

How to Remove Snakes from Pools

As dangerous creatures that could cause harm to humans, you need to be extremely careful getting snakes out of your pool if, for any reason, they find their way into your pool. Snakes are not like dogs or cats that you can jump right into the water and take out using your hand. You will need some equipment and proven techniques to get snakes out of your pool. Check out the steps below to learn how it’s can probably be done without putting yourself or others around in danger:

Steps to removing snakes from your pool

• Step 1: Try a net: You can use a net if you see the snake swimming freely in the pool. However, if you don’t have a net around, you can use a pool pole or a long stick. Here, direct the pole to where the snake is for it to cling to it. If the snake does that, you should relocate it as fast as possible out of the pool.
• Step 2: Try a pool skimmer: A pool skimmer is an opening at the side of a pool that helps suck in water, clean it, and return the water into the pool. It’s designed to capture debris. A pool skimmer can be used if a stick or pole fails. The skimmer can help capture the snake as the water flows through it.

The moment the snake gets to the skimmer, you should get the skimmer basket out. Since the handle of the basket is not far from the snake, you can grab the basket handle by using a pole with a hook on it. Then find a safe place to throw the snake.

Conclusion

As a pool owner, you may sometimes have snakes in your pool if there are things around that can attract them. To prevent them from ending up in your pool, you should do everything necessary to keep them out. But if you eventually find them in it, you should take the proper steps to remove them.