Weird teeny tiny bugs and stinging/flying ant things

[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

[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!!!
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