Ants???? Vacuum hose????

[Windylou]

Ugh, so I bought Wanda the whale about a month ago & at this point I feel like vacuuming is doing more harm than good. Every time I put her in to vacuum, ants crowd all along the hose & end up in the pool. Is there a trick to making the hose stay under the surface? I’d think it would without any air in it, but it floats on top of the water. What drives me even more crazy is they just appear. I have no clue where they come from. No trees above the pool, it absolutely gets zero shade. No trails on the deck, nothing coming over the liner, nothing. I’m talking a ton of ants. Hundreds. I do have a skimmer, but I’m not installing it until I get the XTR upgrade. Anything else? I get the leaf rake & scoop em out, but the next time I vacuum it’s the same thing.

 

[cj133]

If it was me I'd go after the ant problem not try to modify the vacuum hose.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Talstar P Professional is your friend.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Spread Amdro or something similar around the pool, not in contact with the liner. I think I'd be taking the cover off Wanda and making sure there's not a colony of ants living inside her...

 

[Windylou]

..... Okay, so I run a pest control company, we don’t really have any bugs anywhere. Except inside the pool. That was certainly my first choice. They aren’t anywhere around the pool. At all. Not under the deck, not on the deck, not crawling over the liner, nowhere. And they are only in the pool when I vacuum. It’s the craziest thing.

 

[Windylou]

Spread Amdro or something similar around the pool, not in contact with the liner. I think I'd be taking the cover off Wanda and making sure there's not a colony of ants living inside her...

You know, I almost took her apart today just to be sure she wasn’t clogged or anything, but then I read that she’ll slow down or stop moving when she’s clogged. It definitely won’t hurt to look, so I’ll try that tomorrow.

 

[Windylou]

Talstar P Professional is your friend.

Talstar is good, I prefer Demand CS, but when I switch it out a couple times a year, it’s usually with Talstar. I can’t even remember the last time I had any kind of bug issue. I just did a back pack about 4 days ago & I always get under the deck really well since it’s an area not in site.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Okay, so I run a pest control company

We should be asking for you for advice. Here's one...how do I get rid of springtails without dumping 16 more gallons of T-P around the pool?

 

[Mdragger88]

That looks like those terrible flying biting/stinging suckers i get in my pool. They seem to swarm in randomly. I find them floating here & there but they are very attracted to things floating on the water. I just figured When my auto pool vac is running the hose prevents good skimming action/swirl & the hitch a ride. I backwashed today & they were flying out of the hose like bullets if u scoop them out they just fly back in the pool so I direct them to the skimmer & their untimely death .

 

[Windylou]

We should be asking for you for advice. Here's one...how do I get rid of springtails without dumping 16 more gallons of T-P around the pool?

You’re wasting your time & money if you’re not using a growth regulator on springtails if you’ve got a pretty bad case, I’d do it once every 10 days with the IGR, at least two times. At my own house, I’d do 3. I mean adding the IGR to your Talstar, or other chemical. Since you’ve used Talstar, I’d use something else bc springtails build up resistance to chemical easily. My alternatives would be Onslaught, or Demand CS.

 

[Windylou]

That looks like those terrible flying biting/stinging suckers i get in my pool. They seem to swarm in randomly. I find them floating here & there but they are very attracted to things floating on the water. I just figured When my auto pool vac is running the hose prevents good skimming action/swirl & the hitch a ride. I backwashed today & they were flying out of the hose like bullets if u scoop them out they just fly back in the pool so I direct them to the skimmer & their untimely death .

Ugh... Friggin flyers... What gets me is they don’t congregate on the floats when they’re in the pool, it’s just on Wanda! I was sure to let her know that she is here to clean, NOT to make friends

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

You’re wasting your time & money if you’re not using a growth regulator on springtails if you’ve got a pretty bad case, I’d do it once every 10 days with the IGR, at least two times. At my own house, I’d do 3. I mean adding the IGR to your Talstar, or other chemical. Since you’ve used Talstar, I’d use something else bc springtails build up resistance to chemical easily. My alternatives would be Onslaught, or Demand CS.

Great advice. I'll give it a try. Thank you.

 

[Katodude]

This is a great thread!!

I am about to order Demand CS and was pointed to a generic alternative, is that ok, or should I just order the brand name. Also which IGR do you recommend. I am ready to follow expert advice on this!!!

 

[Windylou]

I can’t speak for all generics, but suspend is pretty good. I really don’t have a favorite IGR, but I usually use NyGuard. Good luck!

 

[mgtfp]

Every time I put her in to vacuum, ants crowd all along the hose & end up in the pool. Is there a trick to making the hose stay under the surface?

You could try those hose weights that come with Kreepy Krawlies to adjust the angle of the hose leading up from the cleaner to the surface.