Around November 2008, a raccoon designated our pool steps as its bathroom of choice. One morning, I found a piece of dissolving poop on the top step. It consisted mostly of seeds and berries and dark leafy greens. Trying to scoop it out with the net was a challenge because it just turned into a floaty scattered mess and discolored the water all around it. Think diarrhea.
After googling 'poop in pool', I found out that raccoon poop could be infected with roundworm that lays eggs that if ingested could end up in your brain or eyes. So I super shocked the pool even though I read that chlorine does not destroy the eggs. I was told that over time, the eggs should decay on its own because the environmental conditions might not be suitable for them. I am hoping that is true.
It got really annoying after having cleaned and shocked the pool to wake up the next morning to find another offering on the steps of the pool. This happened a few times. How could I stop the raccoon? I didn't want to lay out traps because I have a cat. And she has visiting cats. One solution I read on a forum was to 'sit quietly in the dark with your beer, wait for them to come, and then gently pull the trigger'. I dislike guns and I didn't want to kill the darn raccoons. So my sons and I rigged up a screen to place over the steps. It worked geat. No poop.
After a couple of months, in January, I thought the raccoon must surely have moved on. I removed the screens as a test. Next morning.... POOP on the steps! So, the screens are here to stay. (We put screens on both ends of the pool). Not very pretty. But no poop.
Since then, I have shocked the pool with 10x the chlorine I usually use as per the pool store's instructions. (again, even though I read, that chlorine does not destroy roundworm eggs). Our cat has since sipped water from the pool. Her friends drink from the pool. Three nephews enjoyed the pool in April. My husband and I got back into the pool in May. As of June 2009, we are still alive. If I suddenly appear to behave strangely........it is likely that the roundworm eggs have made it to my brain.
After googling 'poop in pool', I found out that raccoon poop could be infected with roundworm that lays eggs that if ingested could end up in your brain or eyes. So I super shocked the pool even though I read that chlorine does not destroy the eggs. I was told that over time, the eggs should decay on its own because the environmental conditions might not be suitable for them. I am hoping that is true.
It got really annoying after having cleaned and shocked the pool to wake up the next morning to find another offering on the steps of the pool. This happened a few times. How could I stop the raccoon? I didn't want to lay out traps because I have a cat. And she has visiting cats. One solution I read on a forum was to 'sit quietly in the dark with your beer, wait for them to come, and then gently pull the trigger'. I dislike guns and I didn't want to kill the darn raccoons. So my sons and I rigged up a screen to place over the steps. It worked geat. No poop.
After a couple of months, in January, I thought the raccoon must surely have moved on. I removed the screens as a test. Next morning.... POOP on the steps! So, the screens are here to stay. (We put screens on both ends of the pool). Not very pretty. But no poop.
Since then, I have shocked the pool with 10x the chlorine I usually use as per the pool store's instructions. (again, even though I read, that chlorine does not destroy roundworm eggs). Our cat has since sipped water from the pool. Her friends drink from the pool. Three nephews enjoyed the pool in April. My husband and I got back into the pool in May. As of June 2009, we are still alive. If I suddenly appear to behave strangely........it is likely that the roundworm eggs have made it to my brain.
The Raccoon Poop Preventor Screen
