Treating post rodent suicide

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Nursenini

Nursenini

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Sep 22, 2015
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Bixby, Ok
I fished a large (rat-sized, no tail) dead rodent out of the pool this morning. It could have been there since yesterday, as we did not use the pool yesterday, but more than likely, it committed suicide sometime during the night. Thankfully, I had purchased a bucket-type contraption that attaches to my telescope pole and was able to fish it out. Hubby was not available to do it. UGH!!!

I immediately poured in a 1/2 gallon of bleach. My FC was high yesterday at 15 and 0 CC, SWG is running. Did not test prior to pouring bleach because the idea of the animal in the pool made me not want to touch the water.

What do you gus do when you have critters this large in the pool for several hours???

I was going to hit super clorinate fir an hour or 2 but don't want to raise my FC too high. We had been having so much rain that I raised it a few times to combat the organics and was finally let it drift back down.
I was planning to run a full set of numbers this morning, but found the rodent...
 
Whatever you do, don't use the superchlorinate mode on the SWG...it'll just shorten the units life. If the senór ratón was in the water less than 24 hours, you have nothing to fear. Two weeks ago, we jumped into the pool for a late afternoon family swim when #1 son shrieked....there was a dead packrat in the pool (juvenile as far as I could tell). Anyway, we all got out of the pool, I fished it out and tossed it over the wall (so maybe....maybe it landed in my neighbor's pool....you can't prove anything!) and then adjusted the FC up by 2ppm (from 4ppm to 6ppm). We swam the very next day. No 3rd eyeballs growing yet or outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever.....not so sure about the neighbor though.....
 
Thanks, Matt! According to pool math my addition of bleach bumped my FC by 2.5, so all should be well. I was going to swim today (it's my Saturday), but I guess I'll wait until tomorrow.

I may or may not have dumped my dead guest over my back fence...

Did not know that about the super clorinate! I have used it just a couple of times for an hour or 2 when there was a heavy bather load or lots of continuous rain. Won't do it again. I always have bleach available anyway.

On a slightly unrelated note- is it normal for filter pressure to be higher in the morning with cooler ambient temps and lower when it is warmer in the afternoon or is this a problem? My clean pressure on my medium setting after backwash was 9 1/2. I have noticed it is closer to 10 1/2 in the mornings recently but then drops back down around 9 as the day goes on.
 
Also, last time I backwashed, I installed the pressure gauge from tftestkits. It didn't come with any instructions. Just a sticker on the gauge about pulling the knob at the top to account for atmospheric pressure or something like that. I wrapped some pipe tape on the threads and hand tightened it. I could probably go another 1/4-1/2 turn but then it won't be right side up. Does this matter? Do I pull the knob when the pump is running or when it is off and the gauge is at zero? I've done both....
 
I pull the gauge pin when the pump is off and pressure is at 0- don't know if it matters as long as the glycerine doesn't shoot out. As far as tightening it, if it's in the right position and doesn't leak, it would be good in my world.

I had a small possum swimming in my pool Thursday morning. It would swim 8-10 laps and then get on the ladder step and rest. It did that the whole time I mowed the lawn. I fished it out with the skim net and gently catipulted it over the fence. What possum ??? Raised the FC to shock level and let it drop back to normal- can't see any harm was done.
 
Thimble said:
I pull the gauge pin when the pump is off and pressure is at 0- don't know if it matters as long as the glycerine doesn't shoot out. As far as tightening it, if it's in the right position and doesn't leak, it would be good in my world.

I had a small possum swimming in my pool Thursday morning. It would swim 8-10 laps and then get on the ladder step and rest. It did that the whole time I mowed the lawn. I fished it out with the skim net and gently catipulted it over the fence. What possum ??? Raised the FC to shock level and let it drop back to normal- can't see any harm was done.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in!
 
I routinely find rodents in my pool, probably two or three times a month something decide to take a swim and ends up in the skimmer. I guess I never really thought about it much as long as my chlorine level are at acceptable levels I just clean it up just like I do the leaves and go swimming. Should I be waiting? As long as the chlorine levels are where needs to be what difference does it make?
 
Lykly said:
I routinely find rodents in my pool, probably two or three times a month something decide to take a swim and ends up in the skimmer. I guess I never really thought about it much as long as my chlorine level are at acceptable levels I just clean it up just like I do the leaves and go swimming. Should I be waiting? As long as the chlorine levels are where needs to be what difference does it make?
Click to expand...

For me, I just felt like the nasty things rodents carry as well as it being dead and decomposing is enough to warrant the extra FC and time out of the water to kill it.
 
It doesn't take extra time for your chlorine to act. If you want to stay out for a while, then go for it, but that's all psychological.

If your FC is still on par, then it's doing its job, now if you find something dead in your pool and the FC is 0 (or below minimum) then something, likely your new friend, has consumed the FC (again, doing its job). If that's the case then we fall into the default TFP logic which says SLAM. That's it, it's super easy.

1. Remove critter
2. Circulate water long enough for test results to be valid
3. Test water
4. Adjust if required, or SLAM if required
5. Swim

I'll be most people have friends that come swim that are dirtier than that, by comparison, tiny rat.

Now, this on the other hand might be different: cow rescued!
 
Gag! Niini, I just last night found a skink floating belly up on the steps of my pool. <shiver> I tried to get him out using the net on a long pole but it was clumsy and I shrieked like a banshee when the net pushed on it and it was squishy feeling. EeeeeeeeeK!!!

Poor Skippy, home recovering from a knee replacement last Thursday had to come out and fish that sucker outta there. I couldn't do it! I have no problems with dead bodies at work (unless they're oozy and bloated, ugh) but couldn't handle this dang 6" long skink. Skippy loves skinks too :(

Last week it was a live snake and a friend visiting flung it out before her child saw it.

This livestock is getting to me.

Maddie :flower:
 

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Chlorine levels at target have more than sufficient killing power to kill any pathogens in the water before they can be transmitted to humans swimming in the pool. That is what makes swimming with other mammals safe. :) While rodents can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans you know who the worst human disease carriers are? Other humans. :)

That said, more chlorine is always better, raising FC to shock level won't hurt a thing.
 
Many of the critters I find are still alive, especially snakes [emoji216] and occasional frogs [emoji196] . Field mice [emoji193] don't fair so well..... in any case I just scoop them out or dump the skimmer and go swimming.
 
Its getting to the point where I can't open the skimmer for fear of something looking up at me. Skippy has taken on that task. Apparently we've had a few small snakes in there in the recent past he only just told me about.

This stuff freaks me out like a sissy girl. Yeah. That's me.. Maddie the sissy girl. :puker:

Maddie :flower:
 
I wish I had taken a picture because I had a really awesome looking dead centipede in my skimmer. They're nasty and aggressive little critters that will hit you with a really painful bite if you mess with them. Unlike millipedes that are slow and stupid, the centipedes are very aggressive hunters. And they're scary looking to boot - they look like the creatures from the Alien movies....
 
Maddie- I'm a sissy, too! Hubby does the skimmers. I had no choice with the rodent. Hubby wasn't available and leaving it until he was available was not an option.

I'll take vomit, feces, sputum (gag), and both upper and lower GI bleeds ANYTIME over critters!!
 
I have the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. I KNOW it's psychological, but I'd pull the pool up to SLAM FC levels and stay out of it for a day or two. May not do anything for the pool, but it would make ME feel better. :)

I'd probably also have to get a new net or whatever I fished it out with. On second thought... I'd use one of hubby's fishing nets. They already smell fishy and I'd never have to touch it again anyway. And what he doesn't know, won't hurt. LOL!
 
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