So you found a few frogs in your pool. And you’re probably wondering why.
Well, it might surprise you to learn that “pool frogs” are somewhat common. Pool owners everywhere deal with them each season.
Apparently, for frogs, there’s something really enticing about a crystal clear body of water that’s comfortable, predator-free, and full of food (bugs). Who would have guessed?
Now, while the thought of having frogs in your pool is a bit icky, you’ll be glad to know that they don’t pose a threat to your health. But we don’t expect that to change your mind about wanting them gone. Plus, having to fish the poor little guys out from the bottom of your pool can be an unfortunate task to say the least.
So that’s why we’re writing this post: to help you keep frogs out your pool and safe from harm’s way. So if you’re ready to get rid of the frogs in your pool, keep reading.
Why frogs like swimming in your pool
Your pool is a frog’s ideal habitat for a few reasons:
- There’s water
- There’s food
- And it’s safe.
But let’s explain that a little more.
While you run your pool during the day, you might a notice a bug or two slip into the water. But if you keep it running through the night, you’ll often find way more bugs the next morning.
Why is this?
Bugs are attracted to light and stagnant water. Your pool has lights inside of it, and the water is pretty still if no one’s swimming. That might as well be a flashing neon “Open” sign. But not just for the bugs, because guess who comes to clean up?
Frogs.
All of the bugs in and around your pool keep them well fed and happy. And since your pool is so comfortable and homely, why would they ever leave?
Well, truthfully, most of the time, they can’t leave. In fact, most frogs would actually prefer shorter visits. But without a way out, they instead get stuck in your pool.
Luckily, by the end of this post, you’ll know how to keep these little amphibians safe and out of the pool.
11 Simple Ways To Keep Frogs Out Of Your Pool
Use a safety cover
The easiest way to keep frogs out of your pool is to use a barrier. The best barrier for your pool is naturally a safety cover.
Pool safety covers are designed to provide a tough, protective shield against debris and intense solar rays. But they also work great for keeping unwanted critters out of the water.
A few popular options include solid vinyl covers and mesh safety covers. Each one secures to your pool with the help metal anchors that lock the cover into place. And in case you were wondering, most safety covers can support a few hundred pounds of weight, so frogs won’t have any chance of slipping in.
Want to learn more about covers? Check out this Swimming Pool Cover Guide?
Use a tarp
What do you do if you don’t have a pool cover?
You do the next best thing. You make on yourself.
All you really need is a blue tarp big enough to cover your pool, and few heavy stones or weights to hold it down.
To make your own pool cover with a tarp:
- Start at one end of your pool and secure the first two corners of the tarp with your weights
- Patio stones or fitness weights are good for this
- Pull the remainder of the tarp over to the opposite end of the pool
- At this point, the pool should be covered
- Secure the last two corners with weights
- For a better seal, add a few more weights around the length of the pool.
While this DIY pool cover can’t support much weight, it’ll at least be enough to keep frogs out. And when you need to remove it, it won’t take more than a few minutes.
Install a fence or pool enclosure
While blocking off access to your water will definitely nip the problem in the bud, it may not be practical for your situation. In that case, the next best move is changing where you put your barrier.
Instead of covering your pool, you can build a fence or enclosure around it. With no access to your pool area, you won’t have to worry about frogs getting into the water.
Plus the pool stays readily accessible to family and friends without the worry of “surprise guests”.
Make your own physical barrier with wood planks or chicken wire
If you don’t have the means to cover your pool but still want to create a barrier, this tip is for you.
While installing a fence or pool enclosure might be a little costly for a quick fix, making your own is a different story.
Creating a frog barrier is actually pretty easy. It only needs to be about 2 feet high, and that’s enough to stop most frogs. So you won’t have to spend too much time building it.
We recommend one of two methods:
- A wooden plank/board fence
- Create a frog barrier by attaching a series of wood planks or boards together around the perimeter of your pool. You can do this without any tools, but for a more permanent installation, you’ll need a hammer and nails.
- Chicken wire fence
- Secure a wooden post into each of the 4 corners around the pool – go for a box shape. Next, wrap the chicken wire around all the posts so that it forms a barrier. Secure the chicken wire to the posts with nails and a hammer.
Heat up your pool, and keep it warm
Frogs love a cool and refreshing body of water. But they aren’t so fond of a warm and heated pool.
This method might be one of the simplest and most convenient ways to keep frogs out of your pool. On one hand, you get to enjoy the luxury of warm, comfortable swims on demand. And on the other, it helps keep the frogs away.
Plus, there are plenty of affordable pool heating options to choose from, like pool heat pumps and solar heaters.
Of course, every now and then, a frog might find its way into your pool. But it won’t stay for long once it feels the warm water. And over time, you’ll see less and less frogs coming around for this reason.
Related: 7 Cheap Ways To Heat Your Pool
Remove shrubs, ferns, and potted plants away from the pool
Even though they look nicer than an overgrown lawn, shrubs and ferns can be just as problematic when it comes to keeping frogs away.
Frogs love hiding out in places that are wet and out of sight. It doesn’t even have to be a shrub or fern, it could be inside of an old tire filled with water (we’ve seen it).
For that reasons, move anything that could provide a frog hideout far away from the pool.
Keep the grass low and weeds trimmed
You know where frogs love hiding? Where you can’t see them.
If there are any leaf piles, overgrown weeds, or patches of tall grass in your backyard, then there’s a good chance you’ll find a frog or two camping out.
So take a few minutes to go through your backyard an do the following:
- Shake up leaf piles to drive out frogs. Then, throw away the leaf piles
- Pull weeds and overgrown grass
- Sift through the tall grass to chase out any remaining frogs
Once you’ve checked all of the hiding spots and confirmed that there aren’t any frogs around, grab the lawnmower and start trimming. The shorter you keep your grass, the less likely you are to find frogs in it.
Keep the pool lights off at night
Frogs don’t really care about the lights in your pool. Bugs, on the other hand, love them.
In fact, there’s a whole scientific explanation as to why. Some insects are genetically programmed with a behavior called transverse orientation. This causes the insects to navigate based on a light source, like the moon.
This navigation system usually works great…as long as there aren’t any manmade lights around. But add a few lamps and street lights to the mix, and the bugs get confused.
Now, back to your pool. By keeping your pool lights off, you’ll help avoid confusing all those bugs. So instead of continuously flying straight into the porch light, or plunging straight down into the watery reflection of the moon, they’ll instead fly elsewhere.
This small change GREATLY reduces your pool’s “frog food” population. And a pool without any food isn’t much fun for a frog.
Related: 9 Ways To Keep Wasps & Bees Away From Your Swimming Pool
Install a fountain or waterful to reduce the availability of “frog food”
When you keep your pool dark at night, you deal with less of the bugs that are attracted to light. But what about the bugs who don’t care about light.
What about the bugs that LOVE water? Like mosquitos.
Mosquitos are attracted to stagnant water. And while your pool can get busy during the day, it’s usually still as a statue once night falls.
So what can you do to stop your pool water from attracting mosquitos at night? Keep it moving.
Running your pool pump at night is already a good idea since you get better energy efficiency.
But if you really want to step it up a notch, install a fountain or waterfall in your pool. It’s an easy way to upgrade your pool, keep your water moving, and further reduce the number of bugs in your pool.
Use a bug zapper or repellent to keep bugs away
If you turn off your pool’s lights and keep the water moving, you’ll definitely see fewer bugs over time. But if you truly want to eliminate the problem, consider installing a bug zapper.
A bug zapper, although unfortunate for the bugs will be the most effective in keeping them away. Otherwise, you might try your luck with tiki torches or citronella candles.
Use “anti-frog” spray to create a chemical barrier
We mentioned barriers a lot earlier in the post. But we haven’t mentioned the kind that you can’t see.
Chemical barriers.
By spraying a simple mixture of salt and vinegar around the edge of your pool, you can repel frogs.
Here’s how it works:
- You spray the “anti-frog” liquid around the edges of your pool
- The anti-frog spray drys into the deck
- As frogs approach your pool, the dried salt and vinegar reacts with the skin cells on their feet
- The frogs feel a quick, temporary burn under their feet and hop away
A few more tips on how to keep frogs out of your pool
Keep your pool water sanitized and balanced
While it might seem obvious, the cleanliness of your pool does affect how likely frogs are to appear.
A balanced and sanitized pool is a lot less hospitable for a frog than an unbalanced and debris filled pool. That’s not to say that a frog won’t enter a clean pool, but the odds are much slimmer.
A clean pool doesn’t look or feel like home to a frog.
But a murky pool with leaves and twigs floating in the water? That’s practically a five-star hotel.
Bottom line: drive frogs away by keeping your pool water sanitized and balanced.
Prevent frogs from getting trapped in the pool
If you decide not to cover your pool or create a barrier than you might still deal a few frogs here and there.
But instead of having to fish the poor guys out, give them a few easy ways to leave.
- Use a frog log
- This device hangs off the edge of your pool and features a floating ramp for frogs to climb out on
- Use a kickboard or bodyboard
- Hang it halfway over the edge so that the opposite end is floating on top of the water
