Earthworms covering the bottom when I opened

[Fronzizzle]

Hello all,

I have an above ground pool that is completely surrounded by a deck, so we close it like an inground pool (if that matters).

Today, we pulled the cover off and while the water itself looks fine (clear), the bottom is dirty and covered in worms, many still alive...at least for the time being.

I've read some other posts on this forum about how & why worms head to pools, but being mine is an above ground, I find it hard to picture the worms crawling up the stairs and under the cover. And since many were alive, I'm guessing that maybe they were on the underside of the cover and when we pulled it back they dropped off and into the water. Maybe? But man, there are A LOT of them. See pictures.

Anyway, just wondering a few things:

1) Any other theories on how the worms - especially so many - could get there?
2) Is there anything I can do next year when closing or over the winter to stop this or keep it to a minimum?
3) What do I do now? Try to use a skimmer to get as many out as possible, vacuum and open as normal? Anything else?

When we opened last year, I remember seeing a couple of worms but nothing like this.

 

[bmoreswim]

I get varying amounts of them each spring though in-ground. From tens to thousands. They come out of the ground when it rains and is basically growing season, but much moreso when the ground is saturated from a heavy rain. Not much unknown here. They climb up and in they go. Nothing that I‘m aware of stops them. This year I opened very early and there were hardly any. Then we had a gullywasher. Then I had tons! They just crawled over to the pool and dove in.

Do you have a robot? I just throw mine in and after two cycles they are all gone if it’s a heavy year. The Dolphin S50 is a good above ground robot. Otherwise, just net or vacuum.

 

[IceShadow]

We had a ton this year. I used a leaf rake to get most of them.