mouse in the plumbing!

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km33326

Member
Jun 21, 2020
5
Fort Lauderdale, FL
I've got an usual problem. I found a live mouse trapped in my skimmer basket today. Unfortunately, as I was trying to get him out he fell into the water and got sucked into the skimmer pipe. He was quite small so I figured he would eventually show up in the basket before the pump. Unfortunately, its been over an hour and no sign of him... I've opened up two valves I have before the pump to check if he might be stuck, but no luck. The only thing I can think of is that there could be an obstruction in the plumbing that I'm not aware of somewhere. Water seems to be flowing normally. Any ideas?

By the way, once I get him out should I replace the pool water, of just super chlorinate for a few days?

Thanks!
 
Put a snake in there to take care of the mouse.

All kidding aside, absolutely no reason for you to drain your water. Add some chlorine if you want, but assuming your FC level is at the appropriate level for my CYA (see my signature) you should be fine.
 
Worst case, this will resolve itself over time, as he becomes "one with your pool." That's what chlorine is for (both oxidizer and sanitizer). If you can't find him, he'll eventually dissolve, or some amount of him will end up in the pump basket (so keep looking there). Keep an eye on your FC and CC and you'll be fine.

I know that might feel gross, but you've probably got critters dissolving in your pool all the time: flies, bees, grasshoppers, who-knows-what. Just think of this as a small clump of bees, all at once...

I do like the snake idea, but how are you going to fit the mongoose in there after the snake gets the mouse!?!
 
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I had a small garden snake slide in when I was trying to get him out..Turned on the pump for a quick 15 seconds and he was in the skimmer..Dumped him in the yard and he was shaken up but 30 minutes later he was gone..I think he is telling his friends about this cool ride he found.
 
Wow, glad to hear it. Though I can't fathom how he didn't shoot right through right away. Was he clinging to some PVC joint for an hour, against a wild tsunami!?! All's well that ends well. (Well... except for poor Jerry!)

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I remember my first gopher in the basket. I freaked. Called the pool guy. Made him shock the pool.

Now, I just fish 'em out of the skimmer, throw them in the garbage and forget about 'em. The reality is, when you find 'em quick, there's nothing they can do to your water that a bird doesn't do regularly. You can add some chlorine if that makes you feel better, certainly won't hurt anything.
 

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km33326 said:
I have some good news! He finally showed up (dead, but intact) in the basket by the pump. I'm so glad he's out of there!
I'm going to crank up my salt chlorinator for a couple days :)
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I figured I'd come across this post if I kept scrolling down. I had the same issue a few years ago (mine was already dead though). I think it took a few hours till it showed up in the pump basket. Glad you got the little critter out. I catch LOTS of mice in the skimmer - and rabbits, frogs...
 
TO116 said:
I once found a dead mole... or mouse... (I couldn't tell anymore) in my pump basket. I have no idea how it got there without either getting caught in a skimmer or me seeing it.
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Do you have a vacuum system? My gophers are usually in the skimmer, but I found one on the bottom of my pool one time. If it had been a mouse it might have gotten sucked up into my vacuum, which empties into the pump basket, not the skimmer basket. Do they sink when they first drown, then later float up and end up in the skimmer? Still not clear why an animal would jump 6" or so off a cliff into water just to get a drink, with no obvious way out. Are they really that dumb?
 
Dirk said:
Do you have a vacuum system? My gophers are usually in the skimmer, but I found one on the bottom of my pool one time. If it had been a mouse it might have gotten sucked up into my vacuum, which empties into the pump basket, not the skimmer basket. Do they sink when they first drown, then later float up and end up in the skimmer? Still not clear why an animal would jump 6" or so off a cliff into water just to get a drink, with no obvious way out. Are they really that dumb?
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Nope, at the time i had a Polaris pressure side vacuum.

The only explanation I could come up with is that maybe it was hung up on the weir door and when I pulled the basket out, it got knocked loose and sucked into the pipe before I got back.

I've rescued a few chipmunks this year, but other than that I haven't had very many critters in the pool so far.
 
Yep, that's it. He was likely treading water where you couldn't see him, and then got sucked down when you took the basket out. My gophers are always dead, but I find lots of other critters in there that are just trapped.
 
I once had a dead frog get sucked into the skimmer, and once a kitten toddled into the skimmer basket! I got him out tout de suite! No harm, no foul, just a very wet and puzzled kitten!

mama cat was drinking from the pool once and fell in because we had a minor leak and she overbalanced reaching the lowered water level. I was right there to rescue her, but she still managed to rip up the liner with her hind feet. That led to getting a new liner! (This was my old inground pool, way before TFP was even a thing!)
 
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