Why do I keep finding dead rodents in my swimming pool?
 

In the last three weeks I've extracted the floating corpses of four chipmunks, six mice and a squirrel. Are these little guys just clumsy or what? I'm figuring they (somehow) fall in and can't get from the water level to the pool edge - a height of a few inches. Not much for a human, but if you're three inches tall it's probably insurmountable... I wonder if they just wear themselves out trying to jump out of the water unsuccessfully until they eventually tire out. I'm wondering if I should throw one of those styrofoam skim-boards in there so they'd at least have something resembling "terra firma" to climb up onto. Anyone else having this problem?

Pissed anyone off lately? ;)

must be getting close to the end of the world

did you use the pool to make an unusually large quiche recently?

fondue?

Could a neighbor be putting out rat poison? I've heard that rat poison makes the animals thirsty and they go looking for something to drink. I'm not sure how true that is, but may be something to think about. Have you had the pool long? Is your area drier than usual (like most of the SE)? Is there new building in the area that could be driving the animals out of their natural habitat?

A friend with horses ties a short length of rope to all bucket handles and leaves the loose end in the bucket. Allows the critters to climb out. you could try something similar with your pool. If you still get dead critters, no doubt there is some other reason, such as poison, as was mentioned above.

Steve - Poisoned rats do look for water. We used to find them under a bathtub. I took the precaution after the first incident, to have an access panel to take them out before they got too stinky.

Maybe someone wants to "make you an offer you can't refuse"?
Sounds like a neighbor has put poison out to kill one of the above and the rest of the community is chowing down on it as well.

You got it made, most of us have to find our stew meat on the road.

Yes! Us too - four gophers in three weeks. San Marcos, CA.

You need to offer swimming lessons or post "No Trespassing" signs.

They are commiting suicide after reading your comments...

Whe we had little puppies we would always leave a 10 foot length of 1X4 in the pool with one end on the concrete deck.

Put out some tiny lifejackets.

get yer orange gumby suit on, yer flippers, some white sunblock on yer nose, and have a USGC HELO on "civilian standby" and have a USCG 170 ft cutter also on "civilian standby".


yer problem will be solved in no time.



SEMPER PE-RAT-US! (latin for always ready for RATS!)

it's spring - young mammals are roaming around but are not experienced

is this particular year unusual for you? if so, could be a high pop'n cycle year or could be hateful neighbor or poisoned rodents

Back in my lifeguard/instructor days we would find these in the pool every morning:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1304977589.jpg
There was a lake across the road from the pool and every spring they would migrate looking for...? Inevitably two or three would fall into the pool every night and, even though they are amphibians, would drown trying to find a way out. Some ended up in the skimmers but the current wouldn't allow them out again. The swimboard (or stryofoam island) is a goog idea, but the critter has to be able to find it.
All we did was scoop 'em out every day until the hatch was done. No advice otherwise. Sorry.

Did anyone else instantly think of Vash when they read this thread?

"Blook, blook, blook"...

Also the sound a drowning squirrel makes! LOL :D

if a neighbor is using Dcon (rodent poison) rats that eat D-con always looks for water.. they die near water, this is what I was told ....