What Can I Put in My Pool to Keep Bugs Away?

This time of year, more than any other, is ripe for cooling off in your backyard pool. What can you do to keep your pool free of bug invaders?

There’s nothing like a refreshing dip in your backyard pool to beat the El Paso heat, unless you’re sharing it with mosquitoes, gnats, or other insect pool-goers. Pools are ideal bug hangouts for a number of reasons, but that doesn’t mean you have to deal with them. Is there anything you can put in your pool to dissuade these bugs?

Install a Robot Skimmer or Poolside Bug Zapper

Perhaps this is obvious, but it’s worth mentioning at the start. Skimming your pool at least once daily is the easiest way to fight bugs on the surface of your pool. If this sounds a bit too involved, you can opt for an automatic/robot pool skimmer.

You can purchase solar or electric bug zappers that you can stake in your yard or hang around your pool area. But what we must remember about bug zappers, is that they are not very good at controlling mosquitoes, and they might zap moths and other pollinators. They can produce results for other insects, such as flies.

Use Essential Oils Nearby, Not Inside Your Pool

Small amounts of essential oils, such as citronella candles, diffusers, or tiki torches can be used in your pool area to help control bugs in the evening. These typically yield negligible results at best. There are other recommendations online that say you can add drops of essential oils, such as peppermint or lavender oil, to your pool water. We do not recommend adding chemicals to your pool water that are not typical to pool maintenance and water chemistry.

Use Bug-Resistant Lighting

Amber lights and LED bulbs are also a way to attract fewer bugs to your pool area, as the amber color is not as alluring, and LED doesn’t produce as much heat as traditional bulbs. You can additionally install outdoor lighting away from your pool, so you do not draw them near to the water.

Keep the Water Moving

There are many pool owners who claim that running a pump continually is unnecessary. Others say that your pool pump should always be left on. Moving water disallows bugs, like mosquitoes, from depositing eggs, or keeps larvae from forming if eggs are deposited. Agitating water is less attractive to gnats and mosquitoes, but they will seek puddling water outside your pool in which to lay their eggs.

Keep Your Yard Tidy

There are many things you can do to discourage pests from getting close to and inside your pool just by tidying up outside. Keep shrubs and grass trimmed, keep food waste far away from the pool area, clean up spills immediately, eliminate areas of standing water around your yard and your pool.

Keep Your Pool Water’s Chemistry in Check

Pool water chemistry is key to safe swimming for humans and pets. It’s essential to keep your pool healthy overall. But did you know that certain chemicals or pH levels can make your pool water more attractive to some pests? Be sure you are checking your chemistry frequently and keeping your levels per recommendations.

Get Backyard Pest Control from Mosquito Squad

Mosquito Squad of El Paso is not a pool company, but we can help you keep your pool much more relaxing this summer with highly effective backyard pest control. We control outdoor pests that invade your private outdoor spaces and can help repel them for weeks between treatments. Ditch the worry of trying DIY methods to no avail and call in the professionals at Mosquito Squad for outdoor pest control solutions that work!

Search for backyard pest control and call Mosquito Squad of El Paso.

Mosquito Squad is ready to serve you with effective outdoor pest control in El Paso, mosquito control, other vector control services, as well as a variety of outdoor pest control services, including residential and commercial mosquito control , fire ant control , fly control , and scorpion control .

Find out more about our mosquito control. Get in touch with Mosquito Squad today by filling out our form online or calling us at (915) 800-0343 for a free pest assessment and quote.

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