Baby Coon in my Pool

[elsie]

The skamper-ramp looks like the best choice. I did put kickboard in there but thing is, it probably won't help critter get out of pool (and would said critter be intelligent enough to stay put until help arrives)? Watched the video, didn't know so many pets perish in pools. What a terrible thing to watch. I don't think a frog or mouse would be saved by anything because proportional to their size finding a float or ramp might be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As it turns out, I had another visit a few days after the first one. When describing the critter to a neighbor he said they weren't [baby] coons at all! He said they're possums! Even though they're hairless, they sure leave lots of dirt and crud in the pool. Now I know why sometimes in the a.m. the bottom is filled with crud even though we had no storms or high winds overnight. Apparently on many occasions those possums were actually able to get out on their own.

On another subject, I had a HUGE pine taken down yesterday that dumped buckets of pine straw into the pool every time a storm with high winds came up, so I'm looking forward to the next storm, assuming it ever rains in the south again. Talk about drought...

Thanks everyone for sharing and suggestions.

[KirstenHW]

We used 2 skamper ramps for 2 years. We adjusted them to fit the edge of the pool better. Not sure if they worked well or not - still had our annual 'opening sacrifices'. (Forgive the euphemism - I always got very upset when I couldn't save an animal).

THen last year wehen I opened, we had a baby chipmunk fall in - I'd had it. I bought one of the leaf nets designed for keeping on top of winter covers. I got it oversize for the pool and attached it to a solar cover reel. When the pool is not in use we 'tether' it down to the deck with loose bricks. When we're ready to use the pool, we push aside the bricks, fold the long edges in and roll it up. It's not going to stop a child or larger dog from falling in (we have a fence to keep them at bay) but for squirrels, coons, chipmunks and other small animals seeking a drink, it's worked brilliantly. They actually know to hang on the netting over the edge to grab a drink.

We haven't had a single fatality in 2 seasons. It's a pain to go through the process and the pool isn't as pretty looking when idle, but no more baby animals dead and it keeps the leaves out. I only vac the pool once every 10 days now. THe pool was installed in 1981 - waaaay before you could get those fancy retractable safety/solar covers for inground pools.