water nearly all gone !!!!! could it be voles ??????????/

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L

linwill

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Jan 26, 2008
26
We had our AB pool winterized in early November and it was fine.Just after Christmas we noticed that the water level was low .Now it has lost well over half the water . We also have found that there are a lot of voles tunnels running around the perimeter of the pool. Could they have made tunnels under the pool and now the liner has sunk into them and split ?
We did have a leak in the summer but mended that. The ground around that area is not wet but we have noticed a wet patch in a different place.
If it is voles,what can we do.
Will we have to get another liner and what will stop it happening again?
HELP PLEASE.
 
linwill said:
If it is voles,what can we do.
Click to expand...

I'll take that part of your question.

Mole, mice and voles have one big thing in common. They all have a great sence of smell. Poison grain and poison mice food will work some; but if you have cats and/or dogs, kids, you might not want to use it.

My advice is alittle work; but great results.

Go to like a Lowes or Home Depot and buy some mouse traps, small plastic storage containers(about 6 in X 10 in X about 5 or 6 in deep), and same number of bricks. Also, get a jar of crunchy peanut butter. (my experience is crunchy is better than smooth, I don't know why) Set a trap with peanut butter and place it right next to a hole or runway and cover the trap with the plastic container and put a brick on top of the container to keep the wind from moving it and birds from setting off the traps. It seems with the dark of night and the cover of the container, the mouse or mole thinks it is safe. It won't stop dogs from getting the peanut butter.

Don't worry about the container being close to the ground. The smell of the peanut butter will get them to the trap; if they have to dig under it.

Wait 2 nights, then check your traps. Rebait every 4 days so you have the fresh smell of peanut butter.

This is the cheapest way I know that works. If you use mouse poison and a dog eats it, you'll find out how costly vitamin k is at the vets.

As for replacing the liner; I guess you'll have to wait until you can investigate to see what you have as a hole. You didn't mention where you are from so I don't know if you have snow, cold or cool weather.

If you have to replace the liner, as soon as you lift it you'll know if it was voles.


Good hunting.
 
linwill said:
Thanks. So if we find that it is voles under the liner, how can we stop it happening again with a new liner ????
Click to expand...


There isn't a good answer for that question. Every method has its good points and bad points.

Poisons, traps, cat poop, dried blood or anything else might work for awhile. It depends on your situation; like kids, dogs, birds or cats(outside). I've heard of people burying a small mesh fence around an area to stop mice and moles. That means digging a trench about 10 inch deep all around your pool; with no guarantee that that will work.

Maybe someone on the forum will have an idea.
 
I cannot be of any help except suggest (if you haven't already done so) calling a professional pest contorl company (or two) in your area and explain your problem. They may have a solution.
Good Luck!
 
Hi there,

We had voles some years ago. We tried many of the poisons and traps, all of which helped slightly. They never got rid of the voles. The thing that finally got rid of the voles were the snakes that moved in.

It may sound like an odd thing...but if you know of an area that gets local snkes...pick them up and give them a home :)

dan
 

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Still problems !!!!

Hi there everyone,When we pulled up the pool liner all we found was that the people who installed it never put enough sand and coving to keep the pool in good shape. It was very badly put up.We did have a lot of big thick grass trying to poke through also.
Now it is all renewed with better quality liner and new better pump ( the other one blew after only one season)and good company to do it properly.Could have put in an inground pool with the money we have spent !!!!!

Saying that, we now feel that there is yet again a small leak somewhere as the water level drops about half an inch each day so we have to keep topping it up.We cannot see a hole or split anywhere. Could it be evaporation from the hot weather we have been having ? ( mid 90's )
Advise /help please.

Also,our water has been great, clean and sparkling till yesterday.It looks ok till you go underwater and then you can see that it is a bit cloudy.
My readings are.
ph.....7.8
fc..5.0
ta...80
cya....50-60
Advice and help again please.

Just one more question.
I use aqua chem for testing but as they are stopping selling reagents, can I use the same procedure/measurements with Taylors products ie : 5 drops of this or that etc in the little tester kit ???? Thank you. Linda
and what is the equivalant to Aquas stabilizer solution.
 
Re: Still problems !!!!

linwill said:
Hi there everyone,When we pulled up the pool liner all we found was that the people who installed it never put enough sand and coving to keep the pool in good shape. It was very badly put up.We did have a lot of big thick grass trying to poke through also.
Now it is all renewed with better quality liner and new better pump ( the other one blew after only one season)and good company to do it properly.Could have put in an inground pool with the money we have spent !!!!!

Saying that, we now feel that there is yet again a small leak somewhere as the water level drops about half an inch each day so we have to keep topping it up.We cannot see a hole or split anywhere. Could it be evaporation from the hot weather we have been having ? ( mid 90's )
Advise /help please.

Also,our water has been great, clean and sparkling till yesterday.It looks ok till you go underwater and then you can see that it is a bit cloudy.
My readings are.
ph.....7.8
fc..5.0
ta...80
cya....50-60
Advice and help again please.

Just one more question.
I use aqua chem for testing but as they are stopping selling reagents, can I use the same procedure/measurements with Taylors products ie : 5 drops of this or that etc in the little tester kit ???? Thank you. Linda
and what is the equivalant to Aquas stabilizer solution.
Click to expand...

What is your CH reading? High CH can cause cloudy water.

1/2 inch is not at all unusual, especially if you don't use a solar cover. You can do a search for "bucket test" if you are really worried about a leak.

I'm not sure about the testing, but now's the perfect opportunity to upgrade to a Taylor K-2006 but I'd really recommend the TF-100, link on the home page.....

Glad things are working out with the pool, liner, etc., interesting thread.... :-D
 
linwill said:
Thanks, what is CH ? also what is the bucket test for a leak ???
Click to expand...

Found this thread by doing a search....

"You can do the "bucket test" whereby you determine if you have a leak or it's simply evaporation. So take a bucket and place it in the pool where it can stay over night (like a step) and fill the bucket up to the same level as the surrounding pool water. In the morning check the bucket; if the water level is the same then you probably don't have a leak. However, if the level in the bucket is higher than the surrounding pool water, you probably have a leak."


CH is Calcium Hardness
 
linwill said:
Ok just looked it up. The CH is 250.
I did the test and the water turned from lilac to blue in 5 drops hence 5 x 50 = 250
Think I did it right.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm stumped, not sure, cause that's not too high.

Are you sure its "cloudy" or are you being overly critical of your pool water.... :mrgreen:

The only thing I can think of is filtration. How often are you running your filter, and consider upping the run time? Sorry, I can't think of anything else.
 
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