How To Get Rid Of Water Boatmen, And - How Did I Get Them?

[aGrandma]

I have a 10-year-old in-ground gunite pool and for the first time I have swimming bugs in it - called Water Boatmen or boatman. I don't know why suddenly they appeared in my pool, as the water is always balanced and clean. We have had a lot of wind this summer....also my neighbors erected a doughboy pool that they clean, use, then let it get completely green for a couple of weeks, then they shock it and clear it up, let their kids use it, then let it get green for a couple more weeks, etc., etc. - could my bug infestation be coming from their unmaintained pool?

Anyway I wonder if you can tell me how to get rid of the water boatmen in my pool? I read on the internet to add dishwashing soap to the water to kill them. I don't want to cause damage to my pool hardware or throw off the chemistry too much - is adding liquid detergent ok? If so, how much? My pool is 15,000 gallons, and it's a salt chlorinator system. Thanks!!

[ps0303]

I would consider shocking your pool with a higher dose of liquid chlorine. I guess they could be coming from your neighbor but in order for them to take to your pool water, there has to be something in it that they want/need.

[aGrandma]

I have been reading on the Internet that shocking with Chlorine does not kill them. Apparently they come up for air then dive back down. If there is a coating of dish soap or oil clinging to the top layer of pool water they can't get air. Of course I can't put oil in the pool, but maybe in a bucket and fish them out with the skimmer and dump them into a bucket with oil....but they are good swimmers and fast and hard to catch....

[chem geek]

Though using Dawn liquid soap does work, that soap film won't last. Instead, you can use 50 ppm Borates which you can add either from a combination of 20 Mule Team Borax and Muriatic Acid (added separately in split doses back and forth) or more conveniently from boric acid. Either of these methods appears to work the same way by reducing the surface tension of the water. In the case of borates, the boron is also toxic to insects if they ingest it though the concentration in pools is pretty low.

Note that the water boatman need algae to feed on so if you have proper chlorine levels in your pool to prevent even nascent algae growth then there won't be any food for them.