Is your pool ground zero for your neighbourhood’s latest mosquito infestation?
Mosquitoes can be so annoying! You’ve just sat back with friends on the patio to enjoy cool drinks at the end of a muggy day. Yet not long after, that familiar high-pitched, buzzing noise starts ringing in everyone’s ears.
Everybody appears unperturbed at first, but when swarming backyard mozzies start biting exposed body parts, it usually means spraying on the Aeroguard or a quick retreat indoors.
Just about every backyard in Queensland provides a breeding habitat for the common backyard mosquito (Aedes notoscriptus), otherwise known as the container-breeding mosquito. Our versatile mozzies can lay eggs and hatch in roof gutters, bird baths, tiny puddles in pot plant saucers and even damp green waste.
However, there is one overlooked home breeding site with the potential to unleash more mosquitoes than the rest put together – a stagnant unmaintained and unchlorinated swimming pool full of wigglers!
Neglected swimming pools – a public health risk
If your pool water chemical levels are below minimum requirements and/or the filtration system is not operating efficiently, your swimming pool may become the ideal water source for mosquitoes and a public health risk.
It only takes 4 to 7 days for mosquito eggs to hatch into bite-ready adults. So a neglected swimming pool can quickly develop into a major breeding site for mosquitoes in no time.
A swarm of mosquitos against the backdrop of a lake
How to keep mosquitoes away from your swimming pool
The most important preventative steps you can take to keep your pool mosquito-free include:
- Maintaining minimum chemical levels in pool water
- Cleaning pools and pool areas regularly and thoroughly
- Operating filtration systems according to manufacturer’s guidelines
- Keeping the backyard clean and free of potential mosquito breeding sites
Are pool owners legally obliged to ensure their pools are mosquito-free?
Yes, residents, tenants and/or property owners are responsible for ensuring their pools do not become a breeding site for mosquitoes. Although the common backyard mosquito doesn’t typically transmit serious disease, other species may carry diseases such as Dengue fever and the Ross River virus.
According to the Section 11, Public Health Act 2005, any animal, structure or object that is or is likely to become a mosquito breeding ground is a public health risk. Failure to remove or neutralise mosquito breeding sites around your home, including pools and spas, can result in fines from your local council.
For those concerned about water usage, swimming pools are exempt from water restrictions. This means that you can keep pool water topped up to maximise your water filtration system’s overall efficiency.
Where to seek guidance and information to safeguard your pool from mosquitoes
If you have mosquito-related pool issues or questions, give Atlantis Pool Shop a call on 07 3491 9700. Our award-winning pool maintenance technicians are here to assist.
Alternatively, please refer to the Queensland Health Swimming and Spa Pool Water Quality and Operational Guidelines (October 2004) which contains relevant information for both public and private pool owners via this link:
https://qha.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Queensland-Health-Swimming-n-Spa-Pool-Guidelines.pdf
You can also check out general mosquito control information at the Qld Government website here:
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/all/prevention/mosquito-borne/control/breeding-sites
