Okay, I am no longer sticking my fingers in the skimmer top to empty the basket. I just now did it and found a snake. I did rescue that flippin snake (after I did some horrible running around/dance thing) and screamed like my 5yo daughter while I did it. Thank goodness my neighbors all work during the day or else they would have thought I was being attacked. Anyway, how can I get the lid up now? My top fits snug so you have to open with both holes and sorta turn as you pull up. Do they make something for this?
Snakes and Skimmers
- Thread starter Andiejj
- Start date
plunger???
you could stick a crowbar in the hole and pull up, or somthing of the like.
you could stick a crowbar in the hole and pull up, or somthing of the like.
Andie, I can fully sympathize, it's a little 'unsettling' to find the skimmer occupied by a snake 
What I usually do is use a screwdriver to pop the lid (with yours 2 should work fine) 
As an aside, I had a 'pet' snake live in my garden last spring, he'd be there when I got home sunning himself under my roses - I'll post a pic in the 'show us your pets' thread and tell the story there once I get my wife to load the pic onto my computer.
What I usually do is use a screwdriver to pop the lid (with yours 2 should work fine) As an aside, I had a 'pet' snake live in my garden last spring, he'd be there when I got home sunning himself under my roses - I'll post a pic in the 'show us your pets' thread and tell the story there once I get my wife to load the pic onto my computer.
I have two snakes that live in the pool shed. They love "SnakeAway" and lay on mothballs. They love to lay next to the pump motor for heat in the early mornings of May to get away from the cold. Starting mid-June; they are gone.
Every once-in-awhile in July; I'll run across one of their offspring.
Every once-in-awhile in July; I'll run across one of their offspring.
i never had snakes, but i had lots and lots of squirrels get in them. one time i even found a frog.
No snakes yet, but I found frogs most every morning this past summer. Last February I found a few ducks!
That duck is so cute. That I would not mind finding . I have found plenty of frogs and large spiders but they never really bothered me. This darn snake though ...man I am still freaked out. However I did identify it as a Texas Brown snake which are supposedly completely harmless. Now I wonder if I should have "caught" it for my daughter as she loves stuff like this. Nah...... I took some pics which will have to do . Seriously though, I am not lifting the skimmers up by hand anymore so I will try the screwdrivers. Thanks!
. I have found plenty of frogs and large spiders but they never really bothered me. This darn snake though ...man I am still freaked out. However I did identify it as a Texas Brown snake which are supposedly completely harmless. Now I wonder if I should have "caught" it for my daughter as she loves stuff like this. Nah...... I took some pics which will have to do . Seriously though, I am not lifting the skimmers up by hand anymore so I will try the screwdrivers. Thanks!
How about rope?
If you have two holes in the skimmer top, why couldn't you just thread a length of rope through both and tie it in a knot for a handle? Or if there is only one hole, you could run the rope through the hole and tie a large knot that won't pull through the hole in each end, and use it for a handle.
If you have two holes in the skimmer top, why couldn't you just thread a length of rope through both and tie it in a knot for a handle? Or if there is only one hole, you could run the rope through the hole and tie a large knot that won't pull through the hole in each end, and use it for a handle.
Gawd! If I found a snake in my skimmer basket I would NEVER empty it again. EVER. Snakes freak me out so bad. Two years ago when I was picking beans in my garden a garter snake slithered across my hand. My reasonable Self said, "Calm down, it's harmless," but my Inner Child completely fell apart. Talk about instinctual fears!
I can't give up my garden. It's what I live for, and so I've had to work very VERY hard at overcoming my fear of snakes. Fortunately we don't have any poisonous ones in this area. I now tell myself 'snakes are good, snakes are beneficial to the garden, snakes eat creepy crawlies, snakes are my friends . . .'
Won't belong now before the men in white coats come take me away
You have my TOTAL sympathy for that nasty experience.
I can't give up my garden. It's what I live for, and so I've had to work very VERY hard at overcoming my fear of snakes. Fortunately we don't have any poisonous ones in this area. I now tell myself 'snakes are good, snakes are beneficial to the garden, snakes eat creepy crawlies, snakes are my friends . . .'
Won't belong now before the men in white coats come take me away
You have my TOTAL sympathy for that nasty experience.
Twice now we have had a small snake in our skimmer. I now take the basket out with a long hook I made out of a coat hanger. I have also ran across frogs, spiders tons of them and even moles. For some reason we had a bad run of grubs and i would wake up to find about 30 or so in the bottom of the pool. Milky spores seems to have helped in that department. Life here in eastern NC is never dual.
Gives me the heebie-jeebies just seeing that pic.
I've got Skippy trained to do the skimmer clean out as I test the chems.
I've got Skippy trained to do the skimmer clean out as I test the chems.
bubbadoc
0
Quite a surprise when that head poked out when I opened the lid. Also had a swimmer one morning. Both were copperheads (very common here on the river). Both dispatched quickly.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,751
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Snakes, frogs, scorpions, mice, spiders, and just about every other insect I can think of in our skimmer. I'm out in the country, so our pool is an oasis for many. Most of those snakes that get into our pool, like the one in the pic above, are our non-venomous Texas Ribbon or Lined snakes. Usually we just call everything garter or field snakes. Most of them are harmless, even if they "nip" at you. Still freaky though. I try to handle some of the non-venomous ones just to get past my fear of snakes. If you ever get a pure, jet-black snake in your pool, make sure it's not a Cottonmouth. We get rattlers here (outside the pool) so I'm always on my toes. They (all snakes) are everywhere. We just have to stay out of each other's way.... and skimmer. 
Most of them are harmless, even if they "nip" at you. Still freaky though. I try to handle some of the non-venomous ones just to get past my fear of snakes. If you ever get a pure, jet-black snake in your pool, make sure it's not a Cottonmouth. We get rattlers here (outside the pool) so I'm always on my toes. They (all snakes) are everywhere. We just have to stay out of each other's way.... and skimmer. I have a garter snake that has figured out how to run around my whole pool from behind. My steps have these little weep holes in a channel where the steps butt up against the concrete. The little stinker got in the channel and can now circle the entire pool. I find him sticking his head out by either steps, and sometimes in the skimmer (but not in the water). Maybe he'll screw up and fall in the skimmer basket one of these days.
The white grubs, YES!! I'm in central NC and have been getting those stupid things in the pool every night ... 8 to 10 every single night. And man they REEEEK when they die .. then they slowly start dissolving at the bottom of the pool. Any idea how to get rid of them (in case it happens again in the future ... we're all done for this season) ?
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,819
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I think the rope might be a tripping hazard. Take the skimmer lid to HD/Lowes and hunt around in the hardware dept for something like these that will fit in the hole enough to lift the lid. You might need two, you might be able to make do with one. Use washers to form a rudimentary handle, or if you're industrious you could drill a hole in a short length of dowel (also available at HD/Lowes) to make a nice wooden handle.
Keep it at your pad, or laying in the garden near your skimmer. If rusting will be an issue, find a galvanized hook, or even a stainless steel one.
Keep it at your pad, or laying in the garden near your skimmer. If rusting will be an issue, find a galvanized hook, or even a stainless steel one.
I simply have a wooden dowel, 36" long with a little notch whittled into the end. Cost me all of 80 cents at Home Depot. For me, it's not about the critters, it's about me being lazy. I don't have to bend down to remove the lid OR the basket.