Our New Pool Build and The FUN (i.e. Stress) that Goes Along with it!

Been following along on your build. Everything looks great! Love the pavers! I know you must be happy to finally have the sod down!

--Jeff

I sure am glad! And thank you!

Still dealing with drama on the irrigation, though. It's not setup properly (they've mentioned it's setup to conserve water like I wanted... but I never mentioned that. I don't want to be wasteful but we have a well... I'd rather all of my grass get wet, thanks! lol) and some things aren't working right, one was flooding (changed it myself last night ?). Getting the guy to come back has been tough.. says he will and then doesn't show up. Arguing with the company I hired who has now called me "unreasonable" (irrigation was subbed via the company I hired to do the project). His tune was changed after we had a phone call and I explained everything, though. Will see how long that lasts. Never ending.. I have decided I am just a target for vendor drama. LOL
 

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What do you guys do for pest control around your inground pools?

We've had some type of red ant literally coming up through the coping to paver joints, and also some tiny black ants in the same type of area.

I'm not a huge fan of chemicals, especially so close to the pool and where people will sit/walk. I did put some red ant granular where I saw the hills coming out and then sucked it up with a shop vac a couple days later, before it rained.

But I need ideas on general, safe pest control around the pool. Seeing those buggers coming out of my coping makes me freak out a bit.
 
Depends on how you feel about it, but I'd use something like Termidor SC or the generic Taurus SC to spray for ants. It's the same chemical that is in Frontline for dogs (Fipronil). It's not safe for cats until a day or two later-- dry, that is the only real risk. (Unless you have chickens, it's bad for them too...) For most mammals it's considered safe, they feed it to dogs, obviously. I used it to treat termites in Iowa and is super effective stuff. I did see another ant for years near where I treated. It's up to you but it's probably the best solution out there. The other chemical that is similar, Premise, is a neonicotinoid (imidaclorprid) -- that is considered less safe.
It's good if you have a cricket problem as well...

However, compared to other pesticides that you will have to apply every few weeks, the probably once every three years of the termite treatment, to me seems the safest. In most places it is legal to use 4x a year but If you mix some into the dirt around the pool, I doubt if you'd have to do it again for at least a year. It appears to be legal in Florida.


Both of these chemicals mentioned are noted to have effect on the bee population. Never spray them above the ground or at bees or other flying insects. I hate to see Fipronel get banned because of people being stupid, but it's starting to look as if there is a possibility of that, and it's happened in at least one more state since I used it last. As long as you apply it to the ground or underground in the dirt-- which is a good idea if you can do it, a very shallow trench around the pool-- it's safe for bugs above the ground.

It is a "non-repellent" type chemical, meaning that the ants and termites can't detect it. They end up feeding it to their queen, and like you've heard probably with bee populations, it causes the colony to collapse.

My go to for above ground bugs that is VERY safe the is chemical Permethrin. Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower.

They use it to spray clothing and tents in Africa to prevent malaria. It's a repellent type insecticide and is considered very safe. It's used for head lice treatment, but in some cases the lice are now resistant to it. But this is a great one to recommend to anyone who is concerned about pesticides. You'll have to apply that at least once a month to the ants, but I'd have no issues recommending it to people who would be tempted to be stupid in its use, or who are very afraid of chemicals.


One "natural" alternative to these that is reported to work on ants and termites, especially with respect to around wood is Borates.. if you have boric acid already for the pool, you can treat for ants with it. I will leave that up to your Google-fu skills but it's effective and what was used in the old days before these fancy chemicals came around.
 
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By the way, the old fashioned Terro ant killer is Boric Acid, and Ortho red ant granules are another chemical in the pyrethroid family similar to permethrin called Bifenthrin. I was curious and looked it up. Those granules if they work should be about as effective as the permethrin but spraying is easier. Best of luck with it!
 
Thank you for all of that info!
I think the granules I used may have been Ortho, but I didn't use much and sucked them up so they didn't get into the pool..

I'm familiar with termidor and premise. Those are the two chemicals our pest control company uses for the termite barrier around our houses.
I'd love to have another barrier of that in another location because my neighborhood has a bad problem with termites. We have terrible swarms May-End of June usually, which we literally live in the dark during that time of year to reduce them getting into our house when they see lights on. So I'd love to kill off more of whatever colonies there are near me. I secretly had hoped that we got rid of a lot of them when we dug the huge hole on our yard for the pool..... ?

I'm about to buy some myself anyway because they are being extremely difficult in coming back to re-treat around the house after all of the work we did.

I have borax that I haven't opened. I got it for the pool but then decided against it. I'll have to look that up. I was most concerned with it possibly staining our pavers.

With any of these.... If I put it in a trench around the pool, which is 4-5' away from the pool.. is that actually going to work for those pests that are that far away in my coping?
 
I will say yes to that if you completely surround the pool. I would bring it in closer, right at the end of the deck. Definitely mix it into the top soil... Dig the trench, apply and then when you fill in... Mix it in.

If your house is treated and you have an ant problem like that, you might legitimately need a retreatment. I did this on my 35 acre farm in Iowa and I had no bugs within five hundred feet of the house for about three years. Even when the cicadas came it was quiet near my house...

There are some extremely strict rules about retreating with these pesticides.. In some places you have to notice evidence of termites to do it. If you DIY then, well you can just document that yourself...

It's also fairly expensive stuff so that likely will dissuade warranty reapplication too...
 
Thanks!
Well, They treated with Termidor around the perimeter of the house itself and not in the yard (2019). We don't have much for bugs inside, in general (y). That was done last year. Prior to that, we had a pre-treatment before the house was built (2015) and then some perimeter backfills from a couple of things we did that disturbed the barrier, which was all Premise until 2019 (to my knowledge). Then we decided to switch to another company that has a better contract for damage repair, as our other house is also under them. They came and did a whole new Termidor foundation perimeter treatment (Feb 2019). I am thinking of even getting some termite stakes to put around the back fence and trees. I want to kill off as many termites as possible.. my neighborhood is very old with lots of trees so we have a lot of swarmers each year, which means lots of colonies.

With putting in the pool late last year, and all the subsequent irrigation, sod, rocks, paver work we've done.. I am sure we've turned up a bunch of bug nests!

I have actually been fighting with the pest company to come back for about the last 2 months to re-treat the areas around the foundation that we dug for the rock beds and all that jazz. They were NOT listening to me when I was explaining what we've done... finally after calling 3-4 times and stopping in physically twice, they listened and someone is here not re-treating the foundation perimeter.

About treating around the pool deck... sooo we have about 18" of rock directly coming off of the pool deck. I am not sure I want to lift all the rock and weed barrier up to dig a trench around inside of that. That would be a huge PITA I think.
 
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Okay.. go just past the 18" of rock, and maybe also spray into the rock without moving it. The larger the perimeter the more expensive-- and the more work-- the project becomes. And more of the chemical is used then too. And yes, there are instructions on how to spot treat areas you dig up. For $50 having it on hand is much simpler than trying to convince the bugs guys to come back out.

For us in Iowa at the time I had to treat two buildings, and drill into one driveway slab. It was two weeks of non stop work, digging a trench by hand all the way around. My teenagers hated me for it. They though hauling in and spreading all the Xeroscaping gravel here in Arizona was much easier. This is why it's so expensive to have it done, it's very labor intensive.

I used Termidor (actually Taurus SC, the generic form) in Iowa and I personally think it is superior to Premise, which is what the builder used on the house here. It's going only to be three years old, though so I have more time before I need to worry about it. In about 2-3 more I'll redo the job myself with Termidor.

If you don't want to do all of that you can certainly try getting a small bottle of that and sport treat the ant hills. But remember it takes 3-4 weeks before they will collapse in all cases, including spot treatment. If you want to chase them away immediately, then something like your granules or liquid permethrin is a good choice.
 
In looking back on my PoolMath app, basically all of my history before May or so are all showing 0s.

I know some app changes were made ... But I think something happened. I did not log all 0s for tests and chemical additions. When I go to my logs on the website here, they show up. But in the app, a lot are not.. screenshots attached for examples.

Do you know any issues that have occurred with the app recently??☹😲
 

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I am trying to clean my salt cell today.
I had to wait for the stand I ordered to come in.

I'm having a tough time getting the cell separated from the plumbing. It's very tight. Maybe too much pressure? I opened the pressure relief valve but it didn't let out a ton, but a good amount.

Any ideas on how to get it off easier? I've watched videos and it seems to normally just come right off.
I am gently but with enough force if think, pulling up and down, smacking it, etc and I only heard a tiny blip or release which lead me to thinking it's due to pressure.

Can I open the pump cover and pressure relief valve to get rid of the excess air that may be holding it on via pressure?

I wonder if even the plumbing may be too tight. I can pull up on it and it barely separates at the top on one side... But it will not budge!
 

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Has it been off before ? There have been several threads where the installer accidentally let pvc glue drip into the union and effectively welded it together.

If the nut comes off but it’s still suck it may need some love taps to come apart, preferably from a rubber mallot. You can release air pressure from anywhere you are able but it’s probably just stuck together.

If the nuts don’t open they both spin a different way and it can be tricky. Stand looking into the cell and twist to the left on both sides (which will be opposite). Large pliers (comically large) or a strap wrench will break the seal if they are tight from not being opened in a while.
 
It's never been opened before. First time!

We got the unions loose eventually, using comically large pliers. Lol
The issue is the actual cell itself. It will not come off the pipes. I will bet it has glue on it. If that's the case what can I do if it will not budge?

I'll try a rubber mallet on it... I already texted my warranty manager a little while ago. We will see what he says as well.

I looked for other posts about stuck salt cells and only a few come up so far, and all seem to be based on the unions/fittings being stuck not the cell itself.

Update: Found a post similar to my issue; they used a paint scraper/putty knife and rubber mallet to try and separate. Will try that next...... :oops:
 
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I will bet it has glue on it. If that's the case what can I do if it will not budge
I would do my best to brace the pipe with my body/leg while I hit the edge (end) of the cell with the mallot in a sideways motion as opposed to up/down.
 
Got it loose with a paint scraper, rubber mallet and finesse.
It definitely has evidence of glue that was holding it on.
It's actually not really dirty and it's been 8 months. I'm actually quite confused as to why the check cell notification just showed up this week. I thought it would come on every 3-6 months? Maybe it's based on hours instead?

As I'm doing this cleaning for the first time, I am realizing how the "neat" setup of cords zip-tied together makes it very difficult to clean the cell.
 

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My pH seems to be rising.
I'm not adding calcium. The last time I did was after the acid wash and refill in February. I increased it to about 300ppm (I think... It's a while ago and 2020 has been crazy!)
It climbed to 500 or so, so I drained a bunch of water and got it down to 325. Now it's been climbing and it's at about 425.
I'm not doing anything to increase calcium. I'm searching and keep coming up with results about how to increase calcium. But I want to know why mine is increasing when I'm not trying.

Any ideas? 🤔 Thank you 😊
 
Hello,
Here is the most recent full set of tests:
Free chlorine: 4
pH: 7.6
Alkalinity: 100
CYA: 60
Salt: 3000
Calcium Hardness: 425

The acid wash was done February 5, 2020.
 
Are you using any kind of puck/tablet?

No we do not. We have a salt system.
I did add a little liquid chlorine a couple of weeks ago because I turned the salt system off until I could clean it because the indicator came on.
 

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