How To Keep Birds Away
From My Pool 

By Richard Worden

How to keep birds away from my pool
Keeping your pool clean can be challenging when birds love frolicking around it. On some days, they are welcome visitors since they are lovely to watch and soothing to listen to, but on other days, birds can be quite a pest because of the mess they make with their poop. Birds love hanging out in pools because they’re naturally drawn to bodies of water—to keep feeling cool on hot days—and, like us humans, they love pleasant surroundings.

Using predator decoys or securing reflective tape on fences, you can keep birds away from your pool. You can also invest in an automatic pool vacuum cleaner or an ultrasonic bird repellent. Birds hate strong smells, like garlic and peppermint—you can make your bird-repellent spray, too.

In this article, I will offer helpful tips on how you can drive birds away from your pool and some strategies you can employ to keep them away for good. I will also share some of the tactics I’ve already proven effective and the products I’ve already tried. Let’s explore the answer to the question: How to keep birds from my pool?

1. Use Predator Statues Around the Pool To Scare Birds

Birds are easily spooked, especially when they sense even the slightest danger in their surroundings. You can use this to your advantage by tapping on their innate fear of larger animals, particularly predators. Bird predators include:

• Owls
• Falcons
• Hawks
• Eagles
• Cats
• Dogs 
• Snakes
• Humans

Statues of bird predators are a neat means I use to keep birds away from my pool. This plastic owl decoy, for instance, has a bobblehead feature easily triggered by even the softest breeze. However, remember that birds may soon grow accustomed to these statues, especially since there will be frequent encounters. 

Birds are curious creatures, and, based on experience, I know that they will keep coming back to investigate and figure out a way to get to the pool despite the presence of these daunting statues. To keep birds away from my swimming pool, I move these statues every few days—so the decoys do not lose their element of surprise on the birds. 

2. Install Bird Spikes To Keep Birds Away From the Pool

Do you ever notice how birds like perching on fences, posts, or wires? Birds do this to scope out the unfamiliar territory. They also perch in specific locations because they’ve established that these are safe zones and can thus let their guards down.

Why not install spikes on the fences and walls surrounding your pool area to keep them away? It's an easy option to keep birds away from my pool. If they can’t find a good place to perch, they will fly away in search of a more accommodating environment.

3. Install an Automatic Pool Vacuum 

My automatic pool vacuum is one of the subtle ways to keep birds away from my pool. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone (pun intended)—I can get rid of foreign objects in my swimming pool and scare away birds simultaneously. 

An automatic pool vacuum's erratic sounds and the motions it creates in the water keep birds on their toes. They might assume that a predator is lurking beneath the waters, so they will want to fly away to safety at once. Soon, birds will brand your pool as an unsafe zone and never want to return. 

Consider placing floating toys in the pool for maximum effect. Inflatable owls, deer, or dogs might seem realistic enough to an already skittish bird. For instance, these balloons with holographic predator eyes can be used as pool floats to keep birds from frolicking in the water. You may also hang them on tree branches to discourage birds from making their nests.

4. Eliminate Potential Bird Nests Around Your Pool

Birds see tiny holes and openings as ideal nesting spots. Do away with these bird attractors as soon as you spot them. 

Fill up holes or cracks in your walls with caulking, block off rafters and gutters with nets, and get rid of piles of leaves, wood shavings, or any other material that birds may use in building their nests. Making the surroundings inhospitable to birds will discourage them from making a home in yours.  how to keep birds away from my pool

5. Position Wind Chimes Around the Pool Area

Position wind chimes strategically around your pool area to scare birds away. The sounds they make may be amusing, even soothing, to us humans, but they are agitating to birds. Moreover, they are typically equipped with shiny, reflective metal tubes that dance and way in the wind. These can spook birds enough to make them fly away.

6. Affix Shiny, Reflective Materials Around the Pool

Who would have guessed that reflective tape, aluminum foil, and small mirrors would come in handy in my efforts to keep birds away from my pool? I affixed strips of aluminum foil to tree branches, placed holographic reflective tape on lamp posts, and stationed mirrors in areas birds like perching on to give them the notion that others have already claimed these areas. 

Birds dislike bright, shiny things because they seemingly keep them on edge. Couple these with reflective materials, and birds will undoubtedly be startled by the notion that “unknown birds” have already marked the area as their territory. They will want to leave in search of other suitable sites they can claim as their own. 

I recommend the Hausse Bird Repellent Spinner from Amazon.com. This product offers six mylar pinwheels to place strategically around your pool area to deter birds in a humane and eco-friendly manner.

7. Keep Birds Away From Your Pool Using a Strong Scent

You can take advantage of birds’ keen sense of smell to drive them away from your pool. There are particular scents that they detest, so you can capitalize on these by concocting your bird-repellent spray. Here are some homemade sprays to consider:

• Garlic. The smell of garlic is an irritant to birds. Mix some crushed garlic with water in a spray bottle and apply it on areas birds enjoy perching.  
• Vinegar. Birds hate the pungent aroma of vinegar. Dilute some in a water bottle and spray on areas frequented by birds. 
• Peppermint. Birds dislike its overpowering scent. Spray pure peppermint oil on surfaces you typically see birds, and you will soon notice that they no longer come for visits.
• Cayenne pepper and chili. These pungent scents are pervasive, and they pack quite a punch. Mix some with water and spray away. Be careful, though, since these can also irritate your eyes. 
  
  

8. Take the Electronic Route To Repel Birds

Ultrasonic bird repellers are effective, safe, and easy to use. They do not cause any harm to birds or other animals nearby. You will immediately see the results if you position one near your pool. 

Birds cannot tolerate the sound that these machines emit. Although the sound is inaudible to humans, other animals (such as your pets) may be able to distinguish the sound, so consider this factor before taking this route.

9. Build a Bird Bath To Lure Birds From Your Pool

Luring birds to a better location is a great alternative to merely trying to drive them away, and a bird bath is just the thing that could help. We now know that birds are attracted to bodies of water, so providing them with their area for cooling off will be something they practically won’t be able to resist. 

 Choose a location for your bird bath that is far enough from your pool, where nobody would mind their noise, and where it is much easier to clean all the mess they could potentially make. Consider installing bird feeders, too, to make the bird bath utterly irresistible. 

How To Keep Birds Away From My Pool...Conclusion

These bird repellents are reliable in shooing birds away from your pool. They are non-toxic and have proven not seriously to harm birds in any way. After all, birds play a significant role in the ecosystem and are considered beneficial to the environment.

Birds may sometimes seem like a nuisance when trying to enjoy a lazy afternoon in your pool. They flitted, making a racket with their chirping—and may leave behind unsightly droppings. 

To ensure success, try the following:

• Predator statues
• Bird spikes
• Pool vacuums
• Wind chimes and reflective strips
• Ultrasonic bird noises
• Odor repellent
• Bird baths options
  
  

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Hi! I'm Richard Worden, the author and founder of We Know Birds.

Over 20 years ago I developed a keen interest in birds and birdwatching, and it has been my passion ever since. I am committed to spreading useful knowledge about birds to others so we might all enjoy them to the fullest.

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