Springtails? Water fleas?

[rpoldervaart]

Chris,

See the picture in this thread. Is this what your bugs looked like?
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...?t=1376&page=2

Robert

[cpmart]

Robert

My bugs looked darker (more black than tan). They were teensy like yours however, and they appeared to be shaped like a grain of rice (only about the size of a flea) I think they have antennae too, although I didn't dig out the magnifying glass...

Ours have returned (although not as bad as earlier in the season) and seem to be related to how rainy it has been. We had a rainy spring, and they showed up. When it dried out, they disappeared, and now that it has been really damp again, they have returned, but in fewer numbers. I am hoping with a dry weekend in the forcast, they will pack up and leave again.

I didn't do anything to get rid of them (aside from the occasional spraying with a dilute solution of dawn, which knocked them off the wall and into the water, where they promptly drowned due to the detergent effect on surface tension, however this reduction in number was only temporary). Mine hung out just above the water line, and would hop from the wall to the pool and back again. I probably should have tried shocking, but I couldn't believe it would kill them because they spent so little time in the water. However, that said, I have witnessed the miracle of bleach on our black pool this spring when we opened, so I would give it a shot if they are really putting a damper on your swimming. Ours were congregating mostly in a corner, and since it was early in the season (and cold and rain) they didn't effect our swimming much.
Good luck
Chris

oh, and try googling for "springtails" and select images, there are lots of pictures of them there

[PoolDoc]

Current thread on this topic:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?20419

Caution: do NOT use the "Dawn" idea above -- putting detergent into your pool is ALWAYS a bad idea, even in small quantities.