Water Bugs in My Pool

by Dalayne
(Louisiana)

Hello, I need help to ID the little pests in my pool. I'm not sure if they are "Backswimmers" or not? I'd like to know how to kill them and keep them out.

Thanks!

Hi Dalayne

These look like water bugs to me, and they are annoying little things. I have seen these come out of a garden hose as I was installing a new liner in a pool. Before we were finished with the job there were twenty to thirty of them swimming around in the pool.

I had a pool of my own where they were a problem at times. My youngest daughter remembers using the net to get them all out of the pool before her and her friend would swim in it. The net, or hand skimmer, worked great. We would rid the pool of bugs, bees and other things and then enjoy or swim.

Good pool maintenance helps also. You might try running the filter a couple more hours a day than what you are. Make sure your chlorine level is always where it should be and use vinyl shock at least every two weeks.

Other than that, I do not know of any magic cure for water bugs.