How to Keep Birds Away From a Pool

Pools provide hours of cool fun but require maintenance, such as vacuuming, balancing chemicals and skimming, to keep them fit for swimming. It's no wonder that one of the last things a pool owner wants is to find evidence that his feathered friends have been by for a visit. Here are some steps you can take to keep birds away from your pool.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Raid your tackle box. That's right, use some fishing line to fashion either an "X" or a grid above your swimming pool. The line is clear, so it won't detract from the aesthetics of the pool. birds can still see it and will steer clear of flying over your pool. Just be sure to make your grid above head level for swimmers.

2. Fashion outdoor ornaments for your trees with old CDs. Unused CDs hanging from your tree branches will reflect the sunlight and keep birds away.

3. Position a fake owl in your yard. Owls are natural predators and are enemies of many bird species. If you place a fake owl in a tree in your yard and move it around every couple of days, it will prevent birds from making your yard a home.

4. Place some rubber snakes in your pool or around the yard. Birds will sight them and steer clear of your property. As with the owls, if you're placing the rubber snakes in your yard, be sure to move them around periodically.

Tips & Warnings

• Even though chemicals usually kill most bacteria from bird droppings, cover your pool whenever it's not in use.

[jillbeth]

on 7/23/2009 We have cardinals in our yard and I don't want to scare them away! We don't have a pool up this year anyway.