Weird teeny tiny bugs and stinging/flying ant things

[hopeless]

Our pool is no fun because of insects. First, we seem to have some type of light brown, TEENY TINY worm/bug thing all over the pool. I mean, ALL OVER IT. On the sides, in the skimmer, in the water - the whole pool is covered with these things. Never seen anything like them before. Pool is brand new, just installed 2 weeks ago. Water is beautiful and clear, other than these bugs. If I stick my hand in the pool, and retrieve it, my hand will be covered with them. I think they look like teeny tine maggots - my husband thought chiggars (spelling?) but I thought chiggars (although small) looked like spiders? These are more 'worm-like'. We live in the Mid-South (just south of Memphis, in Mississippi).

Also, we have these terrible biting/stinging flying ant or very very small wasp things. At first glance, they look like large black ants. But they have wings. And Stingers! And their stings are terrible, resulting in large welts. It's no fun to be in the pool because these things are always stinging us. They get into the pool, and of course most end up dead, but if YOU are in the pool, they crawl all over YOU (or your float, or whatever) in order to not drown, and in the process, sting you.

We spent lots of $$ on the pool and a nice deck, etc.. And can't enjoy it. Can a pest control company do anything? I mean, it seems silly - kind of like asking a pest control company to come get rid of the wasps or mosquitos - yet I can't help but think there has to be SOMETHING that could be done..

Any suggestions on EITHER of these pests would be greatly appreciated!!!

[larry2338]

There are a lot of insecticides out there like Ortho Bug-B-Gon Max that you can broadcast on your yard with a spreader. They'll kill a wide variety of pests. Much cheaper than hiring a pest control company. You can't kill everything annoying but this type of product will help a lot.

[PopcornGirl]

I hate to tell you this, but the flying ants (and yes, that's exactly what they are!) is something you will have to get used to. :( They are "swarming" and it's something they frequently do on clear, sunny days. Several times a month we will go out to swim and they will be all over our pool. At first we just stayed out of the pool on those days for fear of getting stung, but after almost 5 years, we have taken back our pool.
We just get in and make as big of waves as we can to drown as many as we can at once. Also, it seems the splashing about inhibits more from coming in.
We try not to leave any toys floating in the pool for them to climb up on and that seems to help, too.
No amount of insecticide will alleviate the flying ant problem as they "fly in" from other locations, but it will definitely help with other bugs.
I have NO idea what the brown, wormy things are.
Sorry I can't be more help.
Good luck!

[Justardnck]

Our pool is no fun because of insects. First, we seem to have some type of light brown, TEENY TINY worm/bug thing all over the pool. I mean, ALL OVER IT. On the sides, in the skimmer, in the water - the whole pool is covered with these things. Never seen anything like them before. Pool is brand new, just installed 2 weeks ago. Water is beautiful and clear, other than these bugs. If I stick my hand in the pool, and retrieve it, my hand will be covered with them. I think they look like teeny tine maggots - my husband thought chiggars (spelling?) but I thought chiggars (although small) looked like spiders? These are more 'worm-like'. We live in the Mid-South (just south of Memphis, in Mississippi).

Also, we have these terrible biting/stinging flying ant or very very small wasp things. At first glance, they look like large black ants. But they have wings. And Stingers! And their stings are terrible, resulting in large welts. It's no fun to be in the pool because these things are always stinging us. They get into the pool, and of course most end up dead, but if YOU are in the pool, they crawl all over YOU (or your float, or whatever) in order to not drown, and in the process, sting you.

We spent lots of $$ on the pool and a nice deck, etc.. And can't enjoy it. Can a pest control company do anything? I mean, it seems silly - kind of like asking a pest control company to come get rid of the wasps or mosquitos - yet I can't help but think there has to be SOMETHING that could be done..

Any suggestions on EITHER of these pests would be greatly appreciated!!!We have a bug the locals call "No see ums" usually found very close to the salt water. They sting like hell and leave welts

[aylad]

The flying ants are a problem here during the summer, especially after rainstorms. If you'll take a 3-4 of those cloth splash balls and let them float in your pool overnight, the ants will crawl up on them. Then you scoop them out and spray them down with ant killer so they don't end up back in the pool. Wash the ant spray out of the ball before putting them back in the pool for the next night. Works like a charm!

Janet

[rpoldervaart]

Janet,

What is a cloth splash ball? Your idea makes sense because they do tend to climb onto any float that's in the pool?

Thanks,
Robert

[aylad]

They're sold in the pool toys section at WalMart or most anyplace that sells pool toys, usually in packs of 3 or 4--they're just balls made of cloth, about tennis-ball sized, that you put in the water and it soaks water up, like a sponge, then your kids throw them at each other--sort of like cloth water balloons. But it doesn't have to be those--you can float a couple of tennis balls, or a nerf ball, or anything else that will float and is small enough for you to cover in ant spray before they all crawl off.

Janet

[rpoldervaart]

Thanks Janet. I know what you're talking about now. In fact, we may already have some of those.

Robert

[Simmons99]

I know they are expensive - but what about a screened pool enclosure? We would never be able to go out from dusk to dawn without one here in FL. You'll get 2-3 mosquito bites just running from the car to the house on a bad day.

Those worm things - they must crawl across the dirt to get to your pool? Have you tried some sort of residual bug killer around the pool so when they crawl over it they die BEFORE they make it to the pool?

[DogPaddle]

We also get the flying ants in the Houston area, especially after rain. (No sign of the wormy things, though...:eek: ) I just take my trusty net skimmer thingy and scoop them all off before getting into the pool.

[sailork]

I suspect the stinging flying ants are a variety of fire ants. The red ones we've got are imported. Yours may or may not be local. Your local university extension office probably has some kind of recommended way of killing them. It's a big deal down here, Texas A&M actually has this;

http://fireant.tamu.edu/

Look for specific instructions on when to put down the broadcast baits and you'll probably do as well on your own as an exterminator.

As far as the wormies I've got no idea. Do you use polyquat in your pool? I've noticed that some bugs seem to die faster since I added it. I figure it's because the polyquat acts like a surfacant and "drowns" them the way watered down dish soap kills bees.

[rpoldervaart]

Ugh! I've got those little brown worm things now. I noticed them in the skimmer a while ago, but I thought it was dust that wasn't sinking. I just saw them in the water by the step and picked some up in a cup. I'll post a picture shortly, but needless to say, I almost gagged to see that the dust was moving. They are little worm like things. I mean little, but there are bunches of them. Too small to pick up with net.

Robert

[rpoldervaart]

Here's a pic of the tiny worm things. This is in a small cup.

Robert
http://i49.photobucket.com.KILLED/albums/f263/rpoldervaart/brownworms.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l_eHn2DNdC8/UctIUZpbc0I/AAAAAAAAFng/ZiA2cnsZiS4/s640/brownworms.jpg

[rpoldervaart]

Could these be tiny mosquito larvae?

How do you keep mosquitos from laying eggs in a pool, and if these are larvae, how do I kill them? They don't seem to get sucked down into the skimmer. They float on top and spin around in a whirlpool, but don't actually get sucked down.

Robert

[Tredge]

I think you are correct about the larve.

Chlorine. Shock the pool if you havn't already and then shock it again :)

What are your numbers at?

[matt4x4]

look like mosquito larvae to me!
As for the ants, waves and splashing aren't going to kill them, ants can live under water for several days.
Since ants like water, it is hard to eliminate them, it is usually only a short time span that they are a nuisance.

[rpoldervaart]

I posted this on gardenweb too and someone suggested some sort of migratory fly eggs (maggots). I'm thinking mosquito larvae also.

My numbers
FC 3.5
CC 0
pH - new pool and SWC so pH rises quickly. I try to maintain 7.2-7.5
TA - 100
CA - 330 - this has risen from 200 over a few months
cya - ~45
water temp 85
salt 3200

[Tredge]

The larvae shouldn't hatch into worms when the chlorine is maintained at those levels.

Maybe they are mutant chlorine resistant mosquitos!!! :eek:
I'd still shock the daylights out of them.

Not sure if mosquitos still try to lay eggs in a chlorinated pool but if they do it never develops.

[matt4x4]

New Mosquito protocol forbids laying of eggs in pool, however, mosquito can't read, so protocol is not being followed.
Chlorine at 3-4 ppm does NOT make any difference on killing bugs, those pesky backswimmers sure don't seem to mind 10 ppm's, almost seems like they grow in it!
You have to shock or get some Gambusia Affinis in your pool, that should do it.
I just read something interesting, they say to use a spoon of vegetable oil in a rainbarrel to kill the mosquito larvae - theory behind this is that the larvae need to breathe and the oil will "coat' the surface of the water so their air straw cannot break through, in effect suffocating them.
I wonder if the "solar fish" availabale at pool stores will have the same effect, essentially it does what the oil does, coat the surface with a thin layer.
That could be a simple effective cure worth trying.

[rpoldervaart]

After using a magnifying glass (I told you these were small), I *think* I can make out two antennae. They also seem to be able to crawl so they might have legs. And they either jump or fly because while they were up on my deck and I was using a magnifying glass, they were able to jump up and land on the glass.

I wish my skimmer had more suction to pull them down, but that's another forum to which I'll post that question.

springtails? silverfish? They are tan/brown and a few are almost black.

Robert

[aylad]

Do they appear to live at the waterline and jump back and forth from the water to the edge of the pool? If so, they're springtails--when I get them, I shock the $#@@ out of the pool and they go away.

Janet

[rpoldervaart]

Hi Janet.

Yes, they do seem to jump back and forth. A lot of them were floating on the water, but there were a lot on the tile also. When I scooped some up in a cup, I did notice that some would jump from the side to the water and back and forth.

It sounds like these are springtails. I just saw cpmart's post "springtails or water fleas" and saw your post in there too. I put in 3 gallons of bleach 6% earlier today. In my 20000 gal pool, that should give me 9+ 3 I already had in there. I'll go get some more and get up to 15 per Ben's best guess chart.

Do you keep it there, or did it seem to kill them instantly and you could let it drift back to normal right away?

Thanks,
Robert

[matt4x4]

let it drift back to normal, by the time it does tehy will be dead at 15ppm.

[maryjo22]

I was having a problem with round black bugs about 2 cm across and also those tiny bugs you are talking about and I have cut down a small tree that was to the side of the pool and I moved my security light to another location. The security light was right next to pool. I was proud of the security light there for swimming at night but I did not anticipate the bug problem. I hope this helps you.

[shagens]

I have those wormy things in my pool and am disgusted by them. Mine don't seem to be on the top of the water. They seem to be more on the bottom and only towards the top when the pool is stirred up from someone being in there. I noticed them when vacuuming the pool. There were TONS of them in the bag. They are tan in color, almost looks like bleached out grass seed. They look just like that picture that's posted. Most of them were not moving, but at a really close look a few of them were. I shocked the pool yesterday and now it is raining today, so we will see how many are there when I am able to vacuum again. I really would like to know what they are. Who wants to swim in a worm pool?

[rpoldervaart]

As close as I could determine, mine were springtails. With a magnifying glass and squinting really hard, I could barely make out antennae. They would also crawl so they had legs, but were too small for me to see. They would also jump. Everything pointed to springtails.

Robert

[yjjeeper]

Here's a pic of the tiny worm things. This is in a small cup.

Robert
http://i49.photobucket.com.KILLED/albums/f263/rpoldervaart/brownworms.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l_eHn2DNdC8/UctIUZpbc0I/AAAAAAAAFng/ZiA2cnsZiS4/s640/brownworms.jpg

I have something that looks just like this. Just showed up in my pool today. What are they and how do I get rid of them?

[rpoldervaart]

I think they are "springtail" and should be harmless, although gross if you know they're in there. We had a lot of rain this past week and the pool filled up and the drain was clogged. I had thousands of these things again. I don't know of any way to get rid of them. If they're congregating by the sides of the pool and jumping back and forth, then a mixture of 1tblspoon dawn soap with 1cup water in a sprayer will cause them to sink and drown. But from what I've read, they can come back almost as quickly as you kill them...

Robert

[yjjeeper]

Thanks for the reply Robert. I "think" they showed up after putting in a new pump and filter. It is a cartridge filter and I half wonder if the little buggers were in the filter. I shocked the pool last night to see if that will help.

[shagens]

I don't know what they are, but I put what I vacuumed out of my pool in a tuperware container. They are growing longer! They seemed to be dead when I got them out of the pool, but are now moving and growing. The chlorine level in my pool is pretty high and doesn't seem to bother them. I don't think they are springtail. I would like to know what they are. Does anyone else with these have mature trees near?

[rpoldervaart]

Can you take a close up picture and post it?

Robert

[hoffmans]

You could definitely get a postive identification from your local county extension service. Just find the phone # in the phone book, give them a call and ask them when you can bring your bugs in for an id. They will also tell you how to kill them.If you have never been to your county extension, you will be pleasantly surprised. They have a wealth of free info on every topic you could imagine that pertains to your area. Such as your native grasses, bugs, when to plant what in your fruit/veg/flower gardens, trees, soil, soil testing, community help & development family and consumer sciences, ect. ect. Here's a link for Texas
http://texasextension.tamu.edu/
But you will want to go to your local county seat to take your insects in.

Hopeless- I don't mean to hi-jack your thread but I don't know where you are located, but it looks like the same info will apply to you.

Also folks don't forget about Food Grade DE. not filter grade but Food Grade. You can sprinkle that all around the perimiter of your pools and any insects that walk thru it will die.