Parasites in pool

[DBLKref11]

not sure if I am posted at in right site, been on this site about a month or so. I am in Alabama and brought this house with a pool (my first pool). I'm having an unusual problem and not sure how to handle it. In the deep end of the pool for some reason I keep getting wormy looking parasites at the bottom of the pool. Was wondering if anyone besides me is having this problem. Attached are pictures of the parasites in the pool. My local pool supply store was very little help, the person I dealt with had never seen anything like this before.
Any help or suggestions on this problem is highly appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[kimkats]

It is worms. Very common with in ground pools. Push the FC up to just under SLAM levels as seen here: FC/CYA Levels and vacuum them up and out. I would clean the filter or vacuum to waste if you are able to.

 

[IceShadow]

We have earthworms diving into our pool all the time. I've gotten pretty good at getting them out with a flat net-style skimmer and a long pole.

 

[M T]

"Parasite" is a bit overreaching. To what would they be parasitic? (That said, they could be parasitic)
I presume you're familiar with earthworms so I suspect you wouldn't have posted what you did if they were.
Usually earthworms are more brown with a bit of red than your pictures.
Your pictures don't give a good sense of size or body shape (other than worm-like).

I'd bet they are salamanders. Salamanders | Outdoor Alabama
They're at home in the water and harmless. Just scoop them up in your net, put them in a jar, and
take them to a nearby creek or body of water. (In rainy years in California, we'd sometimes get them.)

Could they be skinks (probably not)? 6 Skinks Found in Alabama! (ID Guide)

 

[Wobblerlorri]

No, they're not salamanders nor skinks. Ain't got no laigs, you know.

I think they're arrow headed or hammerhead worms, a kind of planarian. You can distinctly see the arrow shaped heads in the first pic. They're bad news for earthworms, and can give humans and pets a nasty sting, since they produce a neurotoxin. Net em out Into a Ziploc bag, douse em with salt or vinegar, freeze em for 48 hrs, then throw em away, don't just dump them on the ground.

 

[DBLKref11]

I apologize if I made this situation sound a tad dramatic, it's just I am a first-time pool owner and never encountered something like this before. I have been vacuuming them out in the waste water. Was just wondering if anyone else have this type of problem. I know earth worms and these are not earth worms, they are long white very skinny worms.
KimKat will try your suggestion and push up FC and see if that help. Thank you all for your input, hopefully I can get a handle on this, if not, will make sure I have a good vacuum on hand.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

No, they're not earthworms. They're hammerhead worms, which are an invasive type of planarian, and are in Alabama as well as OK and TX. Extra chlorine won't keep them out (nor earthworms), it will sanitize your water after they've been for a swim.

If you have hammerhead worms in your turf, you need to add borax to your soil. Just broadcast it on your lawn and under plantings. This will repel them.

Here's the Google page for hammerhead worms:

arrow headed worm - Google Search

Interesting read.

 

[Orion7319]

No, they're not salamanders nor skinks. Ain't got no laigs, you know.

I think they're arrow headed or hammerhead worms, a kind of planarian. You can distinctly see the arrow shaped heads in the first pic. They're bad news for earthworms, and can give humans and pets a nasty sting, since they produce a neurotoxin. Net em out and throw em away, don't just dump them on the ground.

And I thought the snakes that like to swim in my pool were scary! NOPE, nope, nope, nope, nope, nooooooooope!!!!!

 

[kimkats]

No worries @DBLKref11 as from what @Wobblerlorri says you are correct in being worried! YUCK and kind of scary! Please keep up in the loop about what you do and what happens.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

One more thing -- don't vacuum them!!! They reproduce asexually, and if you cut them up each segment grows into a new worm!!! Vacuuming will shred them up, and eventually you'll either have a sand filter full of the things, or if you vac to waste you'll have dozens more where your waste water ends up. Net them out, then put them in a Ziploc bag with some salt or vinegar, then put them in the freezer for 48 hours. That's the only way to kill them reliably.

Ooo yuck icky poo nasty things!

 

[Deb04]

They look to me like earthworms. Those little things just crawl in.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

@Mdragger88 indeed!