Frogs jump at the chance to inhabit bodies of water—make sure it’s not your pool
If you’re taking a relaxing dip and suddenly see a small creature with bulging eyes swimming toward you, it’s probably time to learn how to keep frogs out of your pool. Because they love cool, comfortable, and well-lit swimming areas (and who could blame them?), your pool might be the new frog hot spot in town—but not for long.
Learn how to easily and humanely keep frogs away from your pool for good.
Using a cover is good practice for pool maintenance in general, but it’s also extremely effective at keeping out frogs and other small animals. They’ll even block out insects, so you’ll have way fewer traumatic encounters with dead frogs and creepy crawlies during your swims.
If you’re wondering how to keep frogs out of the pool, removing as much of their food source as possible is a good strategy. Nighttime pool lights will attract bugs, turning the area into a froggy foodie function. It’s best to kill the lights at night to avoid inviting them for their favorite insect munchies.
Frogs look for still bodies of water to relax and hunt for insects. If your pool surface is in motion, it will be far less appealing to them.
Consider adding a pool pump to keep the water moving. You can also add a backyard water feature to your pool, such as a waterfall or fountain. Talk to a water feature company in your area about your needs.
While you might find the croaks from froggy festivities annoying, it’s actually beneficial to have them around. They’ll turn your yard into an all-night diner full of the pesky insects that bug you. But that swimming pool you’ve worked so hard to maintain? Not the best spot for your amphibian allies.
Instead of banishing them for good, consider adding an alternative habitat. If you’ve always wanted to build a backyard pond, here’s a perfect reason to get started.
As a bonus, natural water features are an important part of pollinator habitats, and they invite beneficial insects like dragonflies that will chow down on garden pests.
Frogs intensely dislike salt and anything acidic, as it causes a burning sensation on their feet. This means that sprinkling salt or spraying around your pool with vinegar or citric acid will quickly cause them to hop elsewhere. Keep pets and kids away from treated areas.
Avoid spraying directly on the frog’s body or using ammonia and other harmful chemicals, as this can kill the creatures. Remember that these will also harm or kill your plants, so be careful where you put them.
You can also border your pool area with coffee grounds for an additional buffer. Again, be cautious if you place the grounds near any plants. Acid-loving plants like hydrangeas, daffodils, and azaleas are generally a safe choice, but it’s a good idea to get an evaluation from a local soil testing service to ensure you won’t be making the soil too acidic.
Keeping your pool clean isn’t just beneficial for you—it also helps keep frogs away. If you have algae, leaves, and other debris in your pool, a frog is more likely to mistake it for a pond.
What’s more, live frogs can carry bacteria and other icky things that may pollute your pool water if not treated with the proper chemicals. Skim regularly and maintain your pool chemical balance to avoid the open invite. If you need help keeping your pool clean, hire a local pool cleaning company to handle it for you.
Frogs are nocturnal, so they’ll be on the hunt for spots to hide and snooze during the day. By keeping your grass trimmed and your yard free of weeds, debris, and other hiding spots, you’re likely to have fewer visitors at night.
Frogs lay their eggs in water, which means—cringe—you might end up with one of their gelatinous egg clusters floating around your pool. If you see frog eggs, use your pool skimmer to pick them up right away. Relocate them to a nearby pond or wetland area.
Frogs have a hefty preference for cold water over warm, as cold water has higher oxygen content. Since they absorb oxygen through their skin, frogs will always hop toward colder, more heavily oxygenated water.
You can make your pool less inviting to them by investing in the cost of a pool heater, which is $2,900 on average, or a solar pool cover, which is $800 to $1,000. Having warmer water for swimming is a welcome bonus.
Unfortunately, frogs cannot physically jump out of your pool once they jump in because the sides are often too high. A great solution is a frog log—they’re available for $10 to $20 from retailers. They’re essentially lily pads with a small ramp attached, which helps frogs safely jump out of your pool.
You can keep frogs from entering your pool altogether by building a fence around your pool. Make sure the fence is made from solid materials and is high enough to keep frogs from jumping over. Discuss your options with a local fence installation company.
While frogs look cute, It’s not a great idea to have them paddling around your pool. Here’s how to remove frogs from pools without harming them.
Locate nearby freshwater source
Fill a bucket with fresh-sourced water
Catch them in a tight-knit net
Skim frogs, eggs, and tadpoles gently from the pool
Release them back to the local water source
If these DIY methods aren’t cutting it or there are more frogs than you can handle, call local animal control to sort them out. This type of pest control costs $170 on average, and they can give you some expert tips on keeping frogs away so you’re better prepared if the little green army tries to march back in.
Pools provide the perfect habitat for frogs. Not only is there a fresh supply of water (which frogs need for survival), but pools typically also attract insects that frogs love to eat, such as:
Mosquitoes
Moths
Flies (fruit flies and dragonflies)
Snails
Worms
Slugs
Caterpillars
Crickets
Beetles
Grasshoppers
Ants
Spiders
Pools also act as shelters for frogs—giving them a cool place to hide from birds or other large predators. In addition, frogs seek out quiet, calm spaces to lay their eggs—and when they breed, they can lay thousands of eggs in your pool.
The cost to remove wildlife can range from $190 to $610, depending on the animal, how long they’ve been infesting your home, and how much damage they’ve caused. Because frog removal usually consists of just catching them with a net, along with the debris that’s attracted them to your pool in the first place, it shouldn’t be too costly. But, if you notice harsh stains and debris or serious damage, you may need to resurface your pool, which is expensive.
If frogs have only been hopping about in your pool briefly, you can get rid of them yourself—you just need to put in the hard work to catch every frog humanely and release them into the wild. However, if the frogs have made your pool into a pond, it’s best to call local wildlife control to help you alleviate the problem.
Because frogs require fresh water for survival, they can die from repeated exposure to swimming pool chemicals. Chlorine dehydrates frogs, which can lead to their deaths. To ensure frogs don’t hang out in your pool for long periods, safely remove them once you spot them in your pool and install a frog log so they can easily hop out on their own.
You can make a DIY frog repellent with salt, citric acid, or vinegar. Spray the repellent around your pool to deter frogs from jumping in.
Yes, pools provide a safe, covered, and cool environment for frogs to lay eggs. Frogs also require calm water to lay their eggs, so having a constant flow of water from a pool pump or water feature will deter frogs from laying eggs in your pool.
