Help with Bug problem

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gsmiley

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Jul 20, 2008
71
Queen Creek, AZ
I have a strange issue here. I have a pool that has been completed for a week. We were doing great for a few days then we noticed these brown beetle starting to show up. I thought they were dead bugs until I noticed they were diving and seem very happy with the new pool home :(. I scooped one up finally and noticed at the same time, I got a mosquito like bite. Those bugs bite !

I looked them up and found out they are called diving beetle sp (laccophilus sp). I live in arizona and NO ONE has seen these bugs before. I'm hoping you great folks can help me out. We already shocked the pool and killed some of them, but they are still in there. PLEASE HELP
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Try searching on "backswimmer", "water boatmen", or just on "bug"; there have been several threads on the site where folks have had problems with bugs, especially the biting variety. I'm wanting to say that one poster bought something at the pool store that seemed to kill them off, and then some folks have added borates to their water, and swear that the bugs left after they added it.

When you looked it up, did it say what it's food source is? Eliminate it's food source, and they should go on their way.
 
food source? That is a very good point. The water is clear, I really don't understand why they want to be here in the first place. We are calling the exterminator tomorrow to see if its a local issue here. We are in the middle of our Monsoon season and that may have flown them in this area
 
I can't beleive it, after superchlorinating the pool, they are still some in there.

I have to ask, no bug should be able to survive superchlorination right ? If thats the case, they are new ones flying in from somewhere else. So confused. Nothing else is in the pool but these guys. What would you guys do ?
 
I just skim them out, and after that, they are doomed :whoot: :whoot:
It seams there are more, after heavy rain..
And yes, you have to Kill them, because they will hit reverse and come right back..
 
Chlorine doesn't hurt them because they don't breathe in the water like fish would. They are swimming in it just like you. We had some water beetles; not like the one you pictured, but probably some of it's kinfolk. :lol: After making sure that my water was balanced and never letting it go below the minimum for chlorine, I fished them out, smashed em and so far they haven't been back.
 
Supposedly these little critters and their kin, depending on what you have in there....don't like Borates. So read the thread about Adding Borates to your Pool and see if that does the trick (if it's a recurring problem) also, Borates have the added benefit of helping prevent algae, when the FC is low.
 

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I looked closely at some of "my" bugs this evening, and realized they are the same thing. I just run the pump for a little while before swimming. That gets the buggers! They do land on me sometimes while I'm in the pool. Not sure what to do about that. I haven't got bit by them, though.
 
I'll be skimming them out for now as my JRT loves the pool and she does drink some of the water. I've read that the addition of Borates at the level they would be needed is just at the threshold for making a pet sick. If she didn't love the pool so much I would definitely consider it though.
 
well so far so good, I haven't seen any additional bugs. Been skimming and none show up. I'm sure they will come back soon, but trying to enjoy the pool while I can. I'm so glad you have the same type of bug as I do Swimgirl, I thought I discovered a new species. I showed the bug to several people in the pool industry and they were all confused as to what is was.
 
I'll join the 'no borates for pets' crowd.

I've been following the borates threads and like that they seem to offer better algae management but until I can find some definitive information on toxicity levels for dogs I hesitate to use them, other than the occasional few oz of Borax at the beginning of the season to get the pH in line. We built our pool specifically to exercise our dogs and I'm cautious of what I put in that water.

If these bugs are surface swimmers rather than divers they'd be easily enough removed with a skimmer net. If you don't like squashing them you can drop them into a container with a strong bleach solution or hey! a solution made of Borax and water :)
 
AnnaK said:
I'll join the 'no borates for pets' crowd.

I've been following the borates threads and like that they seem to offer better algae management but until I can find some definitive information on toxicity levels for dogs I hesitate to use them, other than the occasional few oz of Borax at the beginning of the season to get the pH in line. We built our pool specifically to exercise our dogs and I'm cautious of what I put in that water.

If these bugs are surface swimmers rather than divers they'd be easily enough removed with a skimmer net. If you don't like squashing them you can drop them into a container with a strong bleach solution or hey! a solution made of Borax and water :)
Click to expand...

Now there's an experiment worth trying! start off with a 50ppm solution, and keep adding borax until the bugs die, and see what the final concentration is.
 
That's a really nice picture of a backswimmer. They're supposed to be quite common and found ponds, slow flowing streams and sometimes in pools. I had a problem with them a few years ago. They dive, they're fast and they can swim under water for an incredibly long time. If you capture any in the skimmer be sure to dump them out and squish them. If you don't they'll be likely to fly away after you've left.

I've heard people say that they're attracted to algae, and they may be. But when we had them we had crystal clear water that was well balanced. Maybe they were attracted to the area from our neighbors green pool??? I can understand the concerns of borates, but I haven't noticed and backswimmer since we added borate. Even with the neighbors pool a lovely shade of green, again.

I used to get them with the vac hose.


happy hunting!
 
gsmiley said:
Has anyone tried GLB Bug Out ? this products sounds like something I need
Click to expand...

I used it before I switched to adding borax...just went through one bottle but during that time I didn't see any of those nasty little creatures!

It did produce a couple of extra bubbles when I had the fountain on but it wasn't a big deal at all...
 
gonefishin said:
That's a really nice picture of a backswimmer. They're supposed to be quite common and found ponds, slow flowing streams and sometimes in pools. I had a problem with them a few years ago. They dive, they're fast and they can swim under water for an incredibly long time. If you capture any in the skimmer be sure to dump them out and squish them. If you don't they'll be likely to fly away after you've left.

I've heard people say that they're attracted to algae, and they may be. But when we had them we had crystal clear water that was well balanced. Maybe they were attracted to the area from our neighbors green pool??? I can understand the concerns of borates, but I haven't noticed and backswimmer since we added borate. Even with the neighbors pool a lovely shade of green, again.

I used to get them with the vac hose.


happy hunting!
Click to expand...

If you get a chance, click on the link that frustratedpoolmom has in her post above. Apparently the backswimmers are voracious beneficial predators, and eat insects such as mosquito larvae. According to that website, they fly at night, and look for the reflection of a body of water to land in; could be a pond, could be a lake, or could be a pool. It's a good article.
 

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