A "What the Heck is in my Pool?!" Mystery

[LaurenB]

Hello all,

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on something I've found/been finding in my pool.

A couple days ago I found what I believed to be raccoon poop in my pool. You can read my previous post here:

Raccoon Poop.... Really Scared!

Hello everyone, Several years ago I found what I assumed to be a raccoon poop in the pool. I skimmed it out and shocked the pool and didn’t really worry about it. Just now I got in the pool and was walking around vacuuming with a pool blaster (battery operated vacuum with its own filter bag)...

www.troublefreepool.com

In short: I believed it to be raccoon poop and freaked out. I called numerous health agencies after reading the horrors of Raccoon Roundworm eggs (Baylisascaris). I followed the CDC's website and filtered for 24 hours (actually been filtering 24/7), backwashed, and followed another member's suggestion of using SeaKlear Phase 1 and 2 which has not arrived yet. Then I plan to do a filter deep clean and get on with my life.

In the mean time, I'm too afraid to get in the pool. I've been vacuuming every day though. Here is what I've been finding, including something very curious if indeed it was raccoon poop I discovered.

Regarding the raccoon poop... it was tumbling around the bottom, about 4-5 inches long in one clump. It contained hair and seeds, and what appears to be (barf) maggots? There was only one instance of me finding something like this.

I leave pool toys floating around in the water 24/7. We had a couple days of bad storms recently, and miraculously my floats stayed in, mostly held down by rain water that collected on them. When I was out at the pool vacuuming just now, I discovered in the water on one of the floats, the tiniest piece of what looks exactly like what the "raccoon poop" looked like. It's like a miniature model. Full of hair? Seeds, and (barf) one maggot? If a raccoon did indeed poo in the pool, how in the world did this tiniest little piece end up on top of my pool float? Is all of this something that blew in during those bad thunderstorms? Note: I do not have any pets that swim in the pool so I really have no idea what the hair could be from. I've never seen any creatures swimming in my pool: ducks, geese, herons, beavers, nothing. I do live in an area near some woods with a stream and fields so its not entirely unlikely.

Second, I've been vacuuming thousands of these tiny seeds off the bottom of the pool. I don't recall in my 5 years of ownership ever seeing them before. At least, I'm praying they are seeds and not some sort of insect egg because I am really creeped out right now.

In the following post I will attach photos of the tiny clump of junk I found on the raft, and my vacuum filter bag containing the tiny seeds (?), and also one possible (barf) maggot.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm thoroughly grossed out by my pool right now and I hate the feeling. My pool is usually a sparkling clean retreat and now I'm afraid of it. Please tell me I'm being neurotic. But also tell me what all this Crud is. Thanks!

 

[frogabog]

Atop the floatie/raft sounds like a bird did it. Unless you know of mammals (including humans) who can actually get onto floaties expertly...

 

[JJ_Tex]

Not that I'm really eager to look at poop and maggots, but you forgot to post your picture.

PS - Do you have any owls or predatory birds near by?

 

[LaurenB]

Photos

 

[LaurenB]

Sorry I’m trying to do this from a cell phone. I don’t know about the predatory birds. I had grackles this year that made my life a nightmare early this summer but they’ve since moved on.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Im no poop expert, but I would agree thats what it looks like. I would also agree with frogabog that if some of it is on top of your pool float it probably came from above.

Google Owl pellets and that could be a possibility, but doubt you would ever know for sure. I would add some chlorine and treat it just like a kid pooped in the pool.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Those look like rapeseeds, and they're germinating. See how some of them are split and have a tiny root sticking out? As for the "maggot", have you seen it wriggling? How do you know it's a maggot? It might just be some other type of plant material.

I think you'll be fine with treating your pool with extra chlorine for a day or two, maybe do a mini-SLAM for a few days.

 

[LaurenB]

I thought about owl pellets, but I don’t believe owls are mostly herbivores. I would think I would find little animal skeletons and bones if it were an owl pellet. But I’m no expert.

The maggots don’t wriggle and my husband closely examined with gloves and believes the white things are also some sort of plant matter.

I can’t find these seeds ANYWHERE in my yard around the pool. We have arbor vitae and some day Lily’s planted around the pool but that’s it. Nothing else in the yard except some box woods. Which makes me think they are being carried via excrement or some other source into the pool. But why, even after removing the poo, I’m vacuuming up more and more of the seeds every day?

The mystery is killing me!

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Rapeseed are very small and light. I used to grind them up for chemical testing, and they're so light they make a fluff instead of a powder or paste. They're probably airborne. Didn't you say something about windstorms?

I honestly believe if you just up your chlorine a bit for the next few days you'll be fine.

 

[LaurenB]

Thank you all for your responses. I haven’t seen any more “raccoon poop” since the initial incident. Just vacuuming tons of these seeds off the bottom every day. Also backwashed a ton out of the filter.

There’s no way animal poop could be breaking down and disappearing overnight, so that I see nothing but the seeds, right?

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Nope, it would leave a brownish tint in your water given how many seeds are in your pool, and take several days to break down.