Remember this if you, as a swimming pool owner, see these cockroach-like pests scurrying around your paradise all summer long, especially at night: These insects, known as yellow-faced beetles (Dytiscus marginalis), belong to the family of swimming beetles (Dytiscidae).
Because of their exceptional swimming and flying abilities, yellow-faced beetles often visit garden ponds and pools in search of other insects and microbes to consume. Discover below how to remove yellow stone beetles in the pool!
What are the yellow beetles?
Water beetles are used as a collective term for water bugs, swimming beetles and water fleas.
Note the following:There is no doubt that water bugs are a problem in your pool. In addition, certain species of water beetles are poisonous, they bite and can attack swimmers.
The yellow-bordered beetle is a large, thick, brown beetle that can grow up to 3.5 cm long. Its body is slim and almond shaped. The thorax of these insects and their elytra have a continuous gold border and are dark olive brown in color. The females have ribbed wing coverts while the males have smooth ones. Their underbelly is bright yellow, and they can swim better thanks to a fringe of hair on their hind legs.
Although they are less active in winter, the adults can be observed at any time of the year. During the winter they hide in the substrate of ponds and other bodies of water until spring, when they come to the surface. In spring, the female uses the ovipositor to cut into the stems of aquatic plants to create burrows in which the eggs are laid.
Yellow-breasted beetle larvae
The yellow-breasted beetle larvae are a maximum of 60 millimeters long and have a yellowish-brown color. To capture prey, they use their huge, pointed, sickle-shaped jaws. Pupation takes place in moist soil on the banks of the water.
What these swimming animals eat
Tadpoles, other aquatic insects and tiny fish are among the aquatic prey that adults and larvae of this species prey on. The larvae of this swimming beetle eat other swimming beetle larvae because they are cannibals.
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- It is recommended to use a surface skimmer to remove yellow stone beetles from the pool. The skimmer must be equipped with a flap that preventsthe insects into the waterreturn. To protect the free-standing pool in the garden from various water beetles, a pool cover is a good investment.
- Also, make sure your garden swimming pool is free of debris such as dried leaves, twigs and dead bugs if you want to keep yellow-bordered beetles away.
- When algae grows in a swimming pool, it attracts insects. Although they spend most of their time underwater, they occasionally need to come to the surface to breathe air. To prevent insects from feeding on the algae, you should remove it before cleaning the pool. Both the insects and the insects that feed on them then disappear.
- Rinse the pool walls and floor with a brush and pool vacuum. It is recommended to carry out shock chlorination afterwards.
- You can keep water bugs at bay by regularly treating your pool with chlorine and other disinfectants: You can use a pH test strip to determine how acidic or alkaline the water is. The pH value should be between 7.0 and 7.4. With the articles pH-Plus and pH-Minus you canChange pH value.
- You can remove these swimming beetles from the water with a landing net: To prevent the trapped yellow-bordered beetles from returning to your tank, place them in a bucket with water and a little oil (cooking oil or another oil). Because the oil is so heavy, the beetles will eventually drown.
Also read:What to do about backstrokers in the pool? Easily fight the annoying insects
Cover image: Vitalii Hulai/Shutterstock
