Eeewww, why are there bugs in the pool? No one wants to get ready to dive or jump into the pool only to see bugs floating on the surface of the water or sunken at the bottom of the pool. If your pool is properly cleaned and the chemicals are balanced, you shouldn’t have bugs. BUT that being said… if a bug or two or more get in the chemicals might kill them and that’s why you’re having a pool full of the creatures.

There is nothing worse for a pool owner than to want to go swimming only to see dead bugs or worse yet live bugs skimming across the surface or doing the backstroke. Shudder!

Why are there bugs in the pool?

For the most part the biggest culprits of bugs in the water are:

  1. Water boatmen — scary looking, but harmless. They are green-brown in color, have large eyes, are about half an inch long and are oval-shaped. They have fringed hair on their back legs and that’s what keeps them afloat and swimming in your pool. They can fly, but they prefer water. They do eat microorganisms and algae spores so they may be considered beneficial to your pool water, but you certainly don’t want to swim with them! They don’t bite and docile, but again you don’t want to swim with them. If you see them in your water, chances are your pool water has algae spores that haven’t bloomed yet — now is the time to call your pool contractor from Seahorse Pools & Spas in Fort Worth, Texas and talk about a pool cleaning. Let us know you’re seeing boatmen.
  2.  The backswimmer bug — yes that’s its name and what it does. Boatmen are the good bug you want to see, but backswimmers are trouble! They are brown, have long back legs and are long and thin. They do fly but prefer water and swim upside down. They look similar to boatmen and the best way to tell them apart is to see if they’re swimming on their backs or not. Backswimmers are predators and will eat the boatmen. It’s a cycle — you may have algae in the water and that draws in boatmen and the boatmen draw in the backswimmers! This bug will bite and it feels like you’ve been stung by bees — it hurts! They don’t eat algae but will lay their eggs in it and eat the boatmen’s eggs and the boatmen.

To keep bugs from sharing your pool water with you by ensuring the water chemistry is balanced. When you see bugs, skim them out and toss them on the ground. You may want to eradicate them fully, but that’s your call. Bugs that have fallen to the bottom of the pool will need to be vacuumed up if you can scoop them up with the skimmer. You can get rid of the biting backswimmers by using bug spray, remove the food source or skim them and dump them in a bucket filled with oil and water.

Proper water chemistry is the best way to ensure your pool water remains bug free.