If you are an animal lover, the last thing you want is a little critter getting caught up in your skimmer. The function of a pool skimmer is to catch floating objects before they sink to the bottom of your pool. Pool skimmers pull water into the system from the pool’s surface with a skimming action. Debris, such as leaves, large insects and even small animals can then get trapped in your skimmer basket. It gets worse. The suction created by the pool skimmer will not allow anything back into the pool, and whatever is collected in the skimmer basket is then pushed through a pipe located at the bottom of the skimmer through the filter pump.

Ahhh, but don’t you worry.  You can put away those tissues now because there is a way to save animals that get caught up in your pool’s skimmer system. Checking your pool skimmer basket regularly can save these critters before it is too late for them. You can also install grates over pool overflow as well as skimmer baskets to prevent smaller animals from being swept in. Young birds, squirrels and other tiny creatures can fall or jump from overhanging limbs, so also keep your trees trimmed.

So, the moral of this story is that if you go on critter patrol so skimmers won’t take their toll. If you happen to see an animal struggling in your pool, you can help them as well. Leaf skimmers can be used to help get small animals to safety and a pool chair in the shallow end can sometimes help larger animals climb out on their own. You can even affix ropes around the edges of your pool’s surface to aid animals in their escape from your pool.