Pool Covers and Uninvited Guests – Furry or Human

When it comes to pool maintenance, few things make as big a difference as a swimming pool cover. Sure, chemicals and filters are the most obvious things that people think of when they begin to consider pool care, but those who actually own a pool can attest to the fact that adding a pool cover helps eliminate leaves and debris, makes it easier to set up a pool when the spring comes, and slows algae growth.

It can simplify your entire maintenance process and also reduce chemical costs. But there’s another area that adding a Swimming Pool Cover really helps, and that’s with uninvited guests, whether they’re two or four legged, furry or human, or something else entirely.

A swimming pool is almost like an unavoidable magnet for your family. It pulls your family towards it when the warm months arrive, giving them plenty of fun and enjoyment.

But there are others that may be attracted to the pool’s siren song as well, for different reasons. And while there’s not much that you can do about them during the months that your family is really using the pool, using a pool cover once you shut down the pool for the year can help stop them from becoming a problem.

We’ll start with the biggest ‘guests’ – humans. There are plenty of pool owners out there who can tell stories about hearing a noise in the backyard and waking up to find a few teenagers taking a dip in the pool, whether on a dare or just because they had nothing better to do.

It sounds like something out of a movie, but it can and does happen. Putting a Safety Pool Cover over the pool stops your local troublemakers from turning your pool into their own little swimming hole. 

Those are the rarer of the guests your pool can attract. Much more common are animals like squirrels, mice, and even cats and dogs. Whether it’s your pets, someone else’s, or the local wildlife, animals are attracted to pools for one simple reason. They need water to drink, and a pool can provide it.

Not only can this create issues in terms of sanitation, but it could present a safety risk for your own pets or children if they’re attacked by the animals. Additionally, an animal that falls into a pool could be doomed to die there. Nothing’s worse than trying to remove a dead critter from your swimming pool.

A swimming pool safety cover makes sure that no animals try to sneak a drink, fall into your pool, or visit it for any other reason. Moving down the size scale, an even more common issue lies with scaled guests.

Frogs, lizards, and even snakes all love a place to take a nice dip, and your pool is perfect for that. Not only is it great just as it is, but if it begins to accumulate leaves and fall algae growth, it could turn into a flat-out reptile pond that would put the Everglades to shame. 

A cover blocks the leaves and algae that attract these animals, and helps guard against them. If you haven’t noticed by now, it’s worth mentioning that the smaller the group of animals gets the more common their visits become. Continuing that trend, insects are next on the list. 

Most summertime chemical treatments keep insects from becoming a problem in pools, but when the pools are neglected as they often can be over fall, winter, and early spring there is a risk of a serious problem arising.

Pool owners often overlook their regular maintenance and mosquitoes or other bugs can quickly call a pool home. And while it’s true that winter’s cold days will eliminate this issue, it only takes a few days of warm weather for it to become a problem.

Finally, we’re down to the smallest of the small. Bacteria and other microscopic creatures are always present in a swimming pool, but when the fall comes and people stop treating their pools with the same diligence they would during the warm months they can become a problem. 

Add all of the above visitors – bugs, animals and even leaves and algae, and your pool starts to turn into a lab Petri dish.

Add the right level of chemicals and put a swimming pool cover on the pool and you’ll find that you’ve got much better luck keeping all of the unwanted guests out of your pool, whether they’re your neighbors, that pesky squirrel, or something worse.