Every pool owner knows that the pool fills up with insects very quickly. A moment of carelessness and beetles and worms are swimming happily through the water. While yellow-bordered beetles, backswimmers, mosquito larvae, etc. are well known, it can also happen that the so-called stringworm is spotted in the pool. What is it and is it dangerous? How to get rid of him?
First of all, you don't need to panic if you notice a stringworm in the pool. Even if it seems pretty disgusting at first and a first look at the posts about the worm seem a bit frightening. It only becomes dangerous to humans in extremely rare cases.
Long, thin worms in the swimming pool - how do they get there?
Normally these parasites are more common in ponds because the environment is much better there. The worms need so-called hosts, i.e. a living being in which they nest and whose nutrients they feed on during this time. They also influence the host's brain function. In the case of string worms (Nematomorpha) these are insects. It is through these insects that the parasites get into various bodies of water, including sometimes your home swimming pool. In order for the worms to reproduce, they have to leave their host and so the host quickly becomes visible to us humans. This is also the time at which the infected insect usually dies.
You can find out more about the yellow-breasted beetle heren this article.
What do string worms look like?
In terms of color, the parasites can have different characteristics. Sometimes they are more transparent, sometimes white or gray and sometimes they also appear in a reddish shade. They are extremely long, between 10 and 50 centimeters, without increasing in thickness. So they remain thin (1 to 3 millimeters). It is also characteristic that the body is round and smooth, without any curvatures.
What are rowing bugs and how do you get rid of them?Read here!
What can you do about stringworm in the pool?
The general rule also applies to string worms in the pool: regular cleaning can reduce the risk. However, since this worm is not attracted to algae and other food like other pool insects, but rather enters the water via infested, drowning insects, the lack of dirt and algae is not a guarantee. At most, regular use of a skimmer to remove insects from the water can prevent the worm from making it out of the host in time.
Read what you can do against backstrokersin this postafter.
Prevent worm infestation
It is therefore important to prevent insects from falling into the water as much as possible. This works best if:
- Always cover the pool when it is not in use (practical side effect, as explained in a forum: mosquitoes cannot lay eggs either).
- Clean the water surface regularly with the landing net and pick up drowning or dead animals.
If you have already spotted the stringworm in the pool
If they have already gotten into the water, you will be interested to know how they fight the worms in the pool.
- Visible floating worms can be caught and removed with a landing net.
- Fit the skimmer with fine-mesh tights. This means that not only insects but also worms get stuck reliably and can be disposed of.
- Clean the skimmer regularly.
- Shock chlorination may be considered. To do this, maintain a chlorine level of 2 to 3 mg/l for two or three days.
- If shock chlorination didn't help, all that remains is the complete pool cleaning, including changing the water and cleaning the system (pump, filter, pipes, etc.).
How to get rid of larvaefind out here.
Cover images: PhotoJuli86/ Shutterstock;@gwentomologist/ Instagram
