So, this is our first season with our pool, a 24' above ground. We just bought the house in December. Anyway, I uncapped the pool earlier in the week and have been slowly clearing the thing up, it was quite a mess. I've noticed something odd .. the birds seem to be making regular bathroom runs directly AT and in our pool. The deck is taking quite a beating, it looks like someone splattered paint all over it at this point. This was NOT happening prior to opening the pool. Is this normal? And if so, does anyone have a suggestion for stopping it?
Err .. bird issue
- Thread starter lebaige
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I have found the cleaner I keep the water as well if the chlorine is right the birds seem to avoid the pool. What kind of birds are using your pool as a poty?
Steve
Steve
I imagine the birds are seeing woms and insects, so Medvampire is probably right, the cleaner the pool, the fewer the birds.
This past weekend I noticed a bird or two jumping into my pool and back out. It was really funny to watch. I walked over to where they were doing this and saw there were a couple of grasshoppers floating around in that area. I netted them out and the birds went elsewhere.
This past weekend I noticed a bird or two jumping into my pool and back out. It was really funny to watch. I walked over to where they were doing this and saw there were a couple of grasshoppers floating around in that area. I netted them out and the birds went elsewhere.
I just read on Gardenweb that Gackles clean their nests by depositing their babies poo over water. This family was having the same problem as you-so they have put up plastic owls and that seemed to reduce the mess. Good luck.
Hrm .. I'm not really sure what they are, I'd imagine the usual sparrows and finches and what not that hang around out back. I might have to look into the plastic owls.
Definitely grackles. Once they find your pool, they come back every year. It is instinct for them to clean their nests and dump the garbage into water. Very little you can do about it, I'm sorry to say. I did float a HUGE inflatable turtle or something like that one year, and it bothered them a little bit. Plastic owls did nothing. Basically it will go on until the nesting season ends. I've found out the hard way that sometimes we have a second nesting season 
Clean and shock, clean and shock. Sometimes if they lose a nestling they will deposit that in the pool as well. As disgusting as it sounds, you will get used to it.
Clean and shock, clean and shock. Sometimes if they lose a nestling they will deposit that in the pool as well. As disgusting as it sounds, you will get used to it.I was talking to my neighbor the other day who also has a pool and he more or less said the same thing. There's a nest of blackbirds a couple yards over and for some reason they take junk out of their nest and dump it in our pools, leaving us gifts along the way.
I did read some claims on another forum that stringing a couple strands of fishing line teen feet or so above their pool send the birds away. The theory was they don't feel safe flying around it. I have yet to try it though.
I did read some claims on another forum that stringing a couple strands of fishing line teen feet or so above their pool send the birds away. The theory was they don't feel safe flying around it. I have yet to try it though.
Tried the fishing line over the pool trick, the ducks seem to stay away and i'm getting a lot less Crud on the coping from the smaller ones!
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