10 Simple Ways to Keep Ducks Out of Pool

Ducks love water, so you can almost be sure that if you have some close by or even keep them as pets or for food, they will want to enter your pool. What makes pool water even more attractive to ducks is that it does not have predators like lakes and other natural water bodies.

But as much as you would also probably enjoy seeing a flock of ducks floating graciously in your pool, it is never a good idea as it is not safe for them or the swimmers. Therefore, as a pool owner, you need to know how to keep them out of the pool.

Here we explain some of the best ways to keep ducks out of the pool. However, it is essential to start by knowing why you need to keep them out in the first place.

Why You Need to Keep Ducks Out of Your Pool

Many pool owners only want to keep ducks out of the pool as they are bothersome for swimmers. However, there are more serious reasons you need to do it.

1. Pool Water Can Harm Ducks

Ducks love water, but pool water is not the same quality as the water they enjoy out in the wild. Pool water contains various chemicals from chlorine to pool stabilizers, which can harm the ducks.

Drinking the pool water for an extended period will give the ducks kidney problems and lead to a deterioration of their general health in the long term.

2. Ducks Carry Various Diseases

Like most other bird types, ducks carry diseases and bacteria that can pose a significant danger to you and anyone else that uses the pool. And this is regardless of whether they are wild or domestic types.

According to the CDC, germs and bacteria from birds can cause various illnesses, from minor things like skin infections to more serious ones like Psittacosis.

3. They Make the Water Dirty and Affect Pool Chemistry

When ducks enter your pool, they will always leave it dirty with droppings, and dirt from their body and feathers will wash into the pool.

Your pool filtration system and sanitizer can take care of most of these contaminants that ducks add to the water, but they will get overwhelmed over time.

Hence, if you allow the ducks to remain in the water for a long time, they will throw your pool chemistry off balance, meaning more work for you, trying to balance it again.

10 Ways to Keep Ducks Out of Pool

1. Place Inflatable Pool Toys on the Water

Inflatable toys effectively keep ducks out of your pool as it is hard for most to tell them apart from predators.

However, not just any inflatable pool toy will work as you need something that looks more like the duck’s natural predators, such as alligators and snakes.

Leaving inflatable pool toys in the water will scare ducks away and leave less space for them to enjoy the water, discouraging them from getting into the pool.

2. Use Dogs to Scare Them Away

If you already have a dog, it will be a good solution for keeping ducks out of the pool. When dogs see the ducks trying to get in the water, they will typically bark and scare them away.

With a dog, you can also quickly tell when you have ducks invading your pool, provided it has a good view of the pool as it will always bark.

For those who do not have a dog as a pet, you should look for other solutions if you are not ready to commit yourself to the responsibilities of having one.

3. Cover Your Pool

One of the main reasons ducks will land in your pool is that they see it as an open body of water for them to cool off and enjoy. Therefore, just covering the pool can discourage them from landing as they will not access the water.

A good solar pool cover like the Intex 29023E Solar Cover can be handy here as it will also help warm up the water by retaining heat and hence serving more purpose for your pool.

4. Keep the Pool Clean

Ducks love murky water as that is what they swim in out in the wild. Even domestic ducks will always prefer a puddle of muddy water over clear water.

Therefore, simply keeping your pool water clean can discourage them from getting in as it will not be appealing to them.

Regular skimming, ensuring you run your pump long enough every day, and keeping the pool chemistry balanced will keep the pool clean and unattractive to ducks.

5. Run an Automatic Pool Cleaner

An automatic pool cleaner can also be very effective at scaring the ducks from the pool. Running it when the pool is not in use will help deter ducks from landing in the swimming pool as its slow movement unnerves the ducks.

Besides keeping ducks and other kinds of animals from your water, these energy-efficient pool cleaners also help remove pool contaminants like algae, dirt, and debris.

Although automatic pool cleaners can be pretty pricey, their many benefits for your pool make them worth the extra investment.

6. Use a Motion Activated Sprinkler

A motion-activated sprinkler can help intimidate ducks and discourage them from landing in your pool. These sprinklers will spray them with water continuously, which they do not like despite the fact they love water.

The best part about these sprinklers is that they also act as a deterrent for other critters that are likely to invade your pool.

However, make sure they do not add a lot of fresh water to the pool to maintain proper chemistry and that you remember to turn it off when you plan to use the pool.

7. Try Ultrasonic Animal Repellant

You can also get electronic machines that are explicitly designed to deter all kinds of animals, including ducks.

These machines will emit a high-frequency sound that is not audible to the human ear but irritates ducks and other critters.

Besides sound, some types will also emit flashes of light that ducks hate and will hence not want to land in your pool. If you choose to use this method, make sure the ultrasonic repellant will only deter the ducks without harming them.

8. Fill the Pool with Colorful Balloons or Inflatable balls

A swimming pool full of balloons or inflatable balls confuses ducks as they can easily mistake them for predators.

They will even be more effective if they are colorful or have patterns that make them look like animals. Using balloons and inflatable balls eliminates the need to leave your expensive and valuable pool toys in the pool as you try to scare ducks away.

9. Remove Any Enticements Close to the Pool

It is normal to add things like bird feeders and flowers to your yard to add beauty or other purposes. What you might not know is that they also act as enticements for birds like ducks, so they will attract them, meaning some will end up in your pool water.

Removing these enticements from your yard and combining the tactic with other things like keeping the water clean and adding a pool fence makes the pool area less attractive for ducks.

10. Add Duck Off to the Pool

Duck Off should be a last resort if everything else you try does not seem to work, as using it means you will be adding more chemicals to your pool water.

Adding this product to the pool water will break the water’s natural surface tension, making it hard and uncomfortable for ducks to swim.

Ensure you follow the manufacturer’s directions when using Duck Off so you do not add too much of it, as this will throw your pool chemistry off balance.

Bottom Line

Ducks always look amazing when swimming in a lake or river, but you do not want to have them in your pool. Besides making your water dirty, they carry disease, and pool water is also unsafe for them.

Luckily, there are different ways of keeping ducks out of your pool, and the 10 tactics above are some of the most effective ones.

If you try one of these tactics and it does not work well for you, try combining two or more. Ultimately you should find something that will keep ducks out, but regardless of what method you use, make sure it only deters the ducks without harming them.