What To Do If You Find Dangerous Reptiles In Your Pool: A Guide
Reptiles are fascinating creatures that you might enjoy viewing in a zoo, or in their natural habitat. However, you may not want to find them in your fibreglass pool. Snakes are some of the most common kinds of reptiles that you're likely to find in your pool. The good news is that there are snake repellents available, to keep these reptiles at bay. There are also some plants that you can add to your landscape, to deter reptiles from entering your backyard. But what do you do if you find a dangerous reptile in your pool one day?
Why would a reptile enter your pool?
Some pool owners need to deal with snakes frequently entering their pools. If this is a problem that you face, then you might want to know why snakes enjoy the water in pools in the first place. Here are three reasons why reptiles, specifically snakes, might enter your pool:
Snakes enjoy shedding their skin in water
When a snake soaks in water, this helps to loosen its skin. During their shedding period, they might enter your pool to make their shedding process easier.
Some snakes might think that your fibreglass pool is much shallower than it is, causing them to get stuck there.
Reptiles like environments that are moist
A lot of reptiles love being in the water. A reptile that gets lost, might end up in your pool. This can happen more commonly after heavy rain when reptiles usually wander far from their home.
The reptile might have found your pool while searching for water in an unfamiliar environment. Snakes, in particular, travel far from their home when it rains heavily.
They accidentally wandered in
Reptiles can also wander into your swimming pool completely by accident. They could have been running from predators, or even chasing after food when they found your fibreglass pool.
Sometimes, snakes can get stuck in your pool since they don’t know how to get out of it. Snakes aren’t known for being strong swimmers, and they like to avoid bodies of water that are deep.
What should you do if a reptile enters your pool?
Anytime you find a reptile in your pool, immediately call your local wildlife authorities to get the reptile safely transported away. Do not allow anyone to go near your pool, and do not try to check whether the reptile is indeed dangerous or not.
You’re more likely to find snakes in your pool than other types of reptiles. If you do find a snake in your pool, don’t worry, it’s not uncommon to find snakes in pools. Many varieties of snakes aren’t that poisonous either. However, this doesn’t mean that you should try to get rid of the snake yourself.
Some people recommend using pool skimmers to get reptiles out of pools. If you’re sure that the reptile isn’t dangerous, then you can try this. But often, people aren’t sure whether the reptile in their pool is indeed dangerous or not. Instead of testing your luck, get in touch with your local wildlife authority.
Safety precautions to take if you find a reptile in your pool
During the rainy season, finding reptiles -especially snakes, in pools isn’t uncommon. Local wildlife authorities should already be aware of the issue, and can send help should you get in touch with them. But until help arrives, what should you do?
- Ensure that your children and pets are safe inside the home
- Ask all adults to not go anywhere near the pool, until the reptile is removed
- There might be other reptiles in your backyard, so ask people to stay inside your home
- Keep your doors and windows locked if there are reptiles in your backyard
- Do not startle the reptile by using automated pool features, like starting your automatic pool cleaner
Once the authorities have safely transported the reptile away, you should first test the water chemistry of the pool, before you use it. If there was a snake inside your pool, then it might have shed its skin in the pool water. If this is the case, then you should remove the shedded skin, drain and replace the water in your pool, before you start using it again.
How to keep reptiles away from your pool?
There are a few things that you can do to keep reptiles from entering your pool. These include:
Keep your backyard tidy
Snakes like to burrow and hide under things. This keeps them safe from the natural elements and helps them to cool down as well. They also like hiding under plants, as well as yard debris. They lie in wait for their prey which include lizards, insects, rats and more. This is because their prey is also attracted to such environments.
When your yard and poolside area is tidy, snakes won’t find comfortable places to hide and are less likely to wander in your pool as well. Don’t leave things like piles of leaves or sticks, out in your yard.
Get rid of vermin
If there are vermin in your yard, like rats and mice, then this might attract reptiles that see them as prey. If you often find reptiles attracted to your yard, then this could be because they can easily find prey there. If you can keep your yard free of vermin, then you’re less likely to encounter reptiles there.
Add plants that repel reptiles to your yard
These plants are known for deterring reptiles, specifically snakes, from entering your yard:
- Onions
- Cinnamon
- Garlic
- Marigold
- Lemongrass
Cinnamon is especially effective at keeping reptiles like snakes, out of your yard. Add these plants to your backyard to naturally deter reptiles from entering.
Conclusion
Finding a dangerous reptile in your pool can be scary, but there’s nothing to worry about. Exercise caution and ensure that no one goes into your backyard until the reptile has been removed. Don’t wait for the reptile to leave by itself, as it could be stuck in your pool. Instead, get in touch with the wildlife authorities and have the reptile removed.
What To Do If You Find Dangerous Reptiles In Your Pool: A Guide
Reptiles are fascinating creatures that you might enjoy viewing in a zoo, or in their natural habitat. However, you may not want to find them in your fibreglass pool. Snakes are some of the most common kinds of reptiles that you're likely to find in your pool. The good news is that there are snake repellents available, to keep these reptiles at bay. There are also some plants that you can add to your landscape, to deter reptiles from entering your backyard. But what do you do if you find a dangerous reptile in your pool one day?
Why would a reptile enter your pool?
Some pool owners need to deal with snakes frequently entering their pools. If this is a problem that you face, then you might want to know why snakes enjoy the water in pools in the first place. Here are three reasons why reptiles, specifically snakes, might enter your pool:
Snakes enjoy shedding their skin in water
When a snake soaks in water, this helps to loosen its skin. During their shedding period, they might enter your pool to make their shedding process easier.
Some snakes might think that your fibreglass pool is much shallower than it is, causing them to get stuck there.
Reptiles like environments that are moist
A lot of reptiles love being in the water. A reptile that gets lost, might end up in your pool. This can happen more commonly after heavy rain when reptiles usually wander far from their home.
The reptile might have found your pool while searching for water in an unfamiliar environment. Snakes, in particular, travel far from their home when it rains heavily.
They accidentally wandered in
Reptiles can also wander into your swimming pool completely by accident. They could have been running from predators, or even chasing after food when they found your fibreglass pool.
Sometimes, snakes can get stuck in your pool since they don’t know how to get out of it. Snakes aren’t known for being strong swimmers, and they like to avoid bodies of water that are deep.
What should you do if a reptile enters your pool?
Anytime you find a reptile in your pool, immediately call your local wildlife authorities to get the reptile safely transported away. Do not allow anyone to go near your pool, and do not try to check whether the reptile is indeed dangerous or not.
You’re more likely to find snakes in your pool than other types of reptiles. If you do find a snake in your pool, don’t worry, it’s not uncommon to find snakes in pools. Many varieties of snakes aren’t that poisonous either. However, this doesn’t mean that you should try to get rid of the snake yourself.
Some people recommend using pool skimmers to get reptiles out of pools. If you’re sure that the reptile isn’t dangerous, then you can try this. But often, people aren’t sure whether the reptile in their pool is indeed dangerous or not. Instead of testing your luck, get in touch with your local wildlife authority.
Safety precautions to take if you find a reptile in your pool
During the rainy season, finding reptiles -especially snakes, in pools isn’t uncommon. Local wildlife authorities should already be aware of the issue, and can send help should you get in touch with them. But until help arrives, what should you do?
- Ensure that your children and pets are safe inside the home
- Ask all adults to not go anywhere near the pool, until the reptile is removed
- There might be other reptiles in your backyard, so ask people to stay inside your home
- Keep your doors and windows locked if there are reptiles in your backyard
- Do not startle the reptile by using automated pool features, like starting your automatic pool cleaner
Once the authorities have safely transported the reptile away, you should first test the water chemistry of the pool, before you use it. If there was a snake inside your pool, then it might have shed its skin in the pool water. If this is the case, then you should remove the shedded skin, drain and replace the water in your pool, before you start using it again.
How to keep reptiles away from your pool?
There are a few things that you can do to keep reptiles from entering your pool. These include:
Keep your backyard tidy
Snakes like to burrow and hide under things. This keeps them safe from the natural elements and helps them to cool down as well. They also like hiding under plants, as well as yard debris. They lie in wait for their prey which include lizards, insects, rats and more. This is because their prey is also attracted to such environments.
When your yard and poolside area is tidy, snakes won’t find comfortable places to hide and are less likely to wander in your pool as well. Don’t leave things like piles of leaves or sticks, out in your yard.
Get rid of vermin
If there are vermin in your yard, like rats and mice, then this might attract reptiles that see them as prey. If you often find reptiles attracted to your yard, then this could be because they can easily find prey there. If you can keep your yard free of vermin, then you’re less likely to encounter reptiles there.
Add plants that repel reptiles to your yard
These plants are known for deterring reptiles, specifically snakes, from entering your yard:
- Onions
- Cinnamon
- Garlic
- Marigold
- Lemongrass
Cinnamon is especially effective at keeping reptiles like snakes, out of your yard. Add these plants to your backyard to naturally deter reptiles from entering.
Conclusion
Finding a dangerous reptile in your pool can be scary, but there’s nothing to worry about. Exercise caution and ensure that no one goes into your backyard until the reptile has been removed. Don’t wait for the reptile to leave by itself, as it could be stuck in your pool. Instead, get in touch with the wildlife authorities and have the reptile removed.
