How to Keep Birds out of Swimming Pools

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Wire, string or fishing line
Plastic/rubber decoy animals
CDs

Step 1:
Get a cat or dog. Think of your backyard as a unique environment and an ecosystem. Birds will congregate where they are safe from predators and where food and water is plentiful. This is one reason they are so attracted to swimming pools. Make your pool less attractive to them by having a naturally regulatory system, i.e. a predator such as a cat or dog, in the area.
Step 2:
Use the old farmer's trick of putting up a scarecrow. A scarecrow might not be in the shape of a person, as it is on the farm, but rather a false predator or decoy. Plastic owls, hawks, dogs and snakes all make good decoys and will keep birds out of the pool. Birds are smarter than you might think, though, and will catch on if the decoys do not appear to move location from one day to the next.
Step 3:
View your pool from a bird's-eye perspective. Flying high overhead, birds look down and see an inviting patch of blue and then land in your pool. You can keep them from deciding that your pool looks inviting by obstructing their flight path. A very common and very effective method used to keep birds out of pools is to tie wire, string or fishing line in the air above the pool. While it won't look like much to a human, to a bird whose eyesight is far better, it will appear enough of an obstacle that they'll decide to just keep flying. A grid pattern or an "X" 10 feet or more above the pool surface should be sufficient.
Step 4:
Close the pool cover when the pool is not in use. This is a surprisingly simple and effective method that is often overlooked. It only takes a moment to close up the pool and it will save you lots of frustration and energy cleaning up after messy birds.
Step 5:
Take old CDs or other reflective objects and hang them in areas around the pool. Birds do not like the reflections and shining lights everywhere and will keep out.

Tips & Warnings

Make sure you tie your wire or fishing line high, especially if your pool has a diving board. It needs to be high enough so people using the pool don't get caught in it.

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