Clorox. Not enough chlorine.

Scott

Apparently, these are Paddle Bugs (perhaps also known as Waterboatman or just Water Bugs). A chlorine shock did not help.

Someone else suggested Ajax or something else soapy in the pool that would reduce surface tension and make it difficult for the bugs to breathe. I'm somewhat dubious of this as a solution.

I believe that this was the rationale behind using an algaecide to kill them, and that didn't work either.

Any other thoughts?

Thank you.

First, I'm certainly no expert. But last summer I had a similar outbreak in Houston. I believe mine were water boatmen. I read somewhere that chlorine isn't effective because they take a little bubble of air down with them to breathe. And they are quick. Eventually what worked for me was to turn the pool lights on at night and they would tend to congregate by the lights. Then I would scoop them up with a net. Then, most importantly, they must be squashed. I had a lot of help from my daughters collecting them until they found out I was squishing them. The first time I caught about 30 and just left them in the net, hanging on the wall. The next morning they were all back in the pool. After about 2 nights of gathering, they were all gone. i haven't had any back this summer. I'm not saying there isn't a chemical method to get rid of them, but the nighttime gathering and squishing method cleared mine up pretty fast. For what it's worth...