# Mosquitos coming from neighbor's abandoned pool



## tzingleman (May 4, 2010)

I haven't seen or heard any activity at the house next to me for about 8 months now. We have been having a bad mosquito problem here lately and I made sure there was nothing on my property that could be breeding them. 

I started hearing frogs coming from the neighbor's yard and had a peek over the fence. Sure enough, the pool is green and stagnant. 

What can I do? Is there anything that is inexpensive and won't get me into trouble if I toss it in there? Should I stock it with goldfish? Should I call the city or county? 

Thanks


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## Havana Dude (May 4, 2010)

Throw some chlorine tablets in there?


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## drippin' rock (May 4, 2010)

Look at a garden supply store for mosquito wafers to drop in the water.  They make them for goldfish ponds.  Also, unfortunately, all mosquitos need is moist pockets in tall grass to breed.  Uncut grass+ rain=mosquitos.


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## dawg2 (May 4, 2010)

Go catch mosquito fish in a lake and dump them in there.  Guppies will work too.


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## tzingleman (May 4, 2010)

My brother told me about the mosquito tablets, but I haven't priced them and I'm afraid of how many it's going to take to treat the pool (average sized in-ground). Then again, I could probably end up spending $75 in Repel this summer if I don't do anything. 

The grass over there is a little out of hand, too.


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## Swamprat (May 4, 2010)

Call code enforcement first, if that doesn't work then either chunk in some mosquito wafers or throw in some minnows to eat the larvae.


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## mattech (May 4, 2010)

redneckcamo said:


> call the county about it ......its not only nasty ......but illegal and dangerous !!
> 
> if its gone back to the bank then they need to take care of this !!



x2

in the meantime, throw a gallon of bleach in there.


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## germag (May 4, 2010)

I absolutely would call the county. Is the pool secure? Can little kids get in there? Mosquitoes are not the only hazard with abandoned pools.


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## tzingleman (May 5, 2010)

Yes, the pool, as far as I know, is secure. The yard is fenced in with 8 ft wooden fence, but I haven't tried the gate, so I can't say for sure that it's secure.

Looks like I'll be on the phone with the county tomorrow.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (May 5, 2010)

A thin layer of oil on top of the water will choke out the larvae because they can't breathe.  Just a splash of gas works in a 5-gallon bucket full of stagnant water.  I'd guess a 2-gallon can mixed with a pool-full of stagnant water would work.


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## slip (May 5, 2010)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> A thin layer of oil on top of the water will choke out the larvae because they can't breathe.  Just a splash of gas works in a 5-gallon bucket full of stagnant water.  I'd guess a 2-gallon can mixed with a pool-full of stagnant water would work.



then someone has to deal with gas/oil in the water plus everything else when they clean it up, just call who needs to be called, if they give you a hard time throw in some minnows to eat up in the mean time.


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## lakelbr (May 5, 2010)

Put in a pint of malathion. Available at your  local feed store.


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## Pat Tria (May 5, 2010)

Drain it


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## Canuck5 (May 5, 2010)

*As others have said .....*

Call the county and have them start dealing with it.  In the meantime, I think if you were to pour about 5 ounces of just plain ole lemon scented dish soap in there, it would do the same as "oil" and not be quite as much of a problem later.  You might have to apply it a few times, till they get it drained & cleaned up.   

The Lemon "smell" will also deter more mosquitos from coming there to breed


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## Wild Turkey (May 5, 2010)

a gallon of veg oil dumped in the water. safe and kills larvae.


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## Sunshine1 (May 5, 2010)

I would imagine that if you dumped any kind of oil in there it would ruin the pump on that pool for the next person that owns it. Bleach is best and calling the county.


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## DYI hunting (May 5, 2010)

I second mosquito fish.  We put them in our 8,500 gallon garden pond and they will tear up mosquito larvae, they are small, cheap and are pretty hardy.

You would need a lot of expensive chlorine to kill them and chlorine burns off.  And mosquito posion tablets might not be safe in a pool if they ever get around to opening it.


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## golffreak (May 5, 2010)

Get the health department involved.


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## Twenty five ought six (May 5, 2010)

Our local fire department gives away the tablets.  I would make a few calls before spending money.


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## tzingleman (May 5, 2010)

UPDATE: 

I called the health department and they said that they stopped handling mosquito problems a couple of years ago and passed me off to the police station's code enforcement folks. I left a message on the complaint answering machine, which was highly unsatisfying. 

I'll get in touch with the fire dept to see if they offer tablets. I have a feeling that if I don't fix the problem myself the summer will be over before anything gets done. This is a fairly densely-packed neighborhood with lots of kids, so there are a lot of people who could be at risk. The problem is that the neighbor's yard is surrounded by a very high fence and I don't think many of my other neighbors have put two and two together.


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## dawg2 (May 5, 2010)

TRUST ME: PUT MOSQUITO FISH IN THE POOL.  They can be ordered or caught right at the shoreline of most GA pools.  They will breed, they are tough, and they will tear up ALL the mosquito larvae.  They look like a guppie.  They were put in pools in New Orleans to control mosquitos after the flood.  Doesn't harm the pool.


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## DYI hunting (May 5, 2010)

I put 20 mosquito fish in our garden pond last spring that we purchased from a garden supply store and by the fall we must have had more than 400 of them.  I started dumping them anywhere around the farm where water was standing and they would wipe out the larvae in no time.  They are voracious eaters and can survive in some pretty poor quality water at least until it gets really cold.


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## Georgia Hard Hunter (May 5, 2010)

Lowes sells a product called mosquito dunks 3 per pack get 2 packs and put all six of them in the water, problem solved. There are about $10 a pack


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## 7Mag Hunter (May 6, 2010)

I would just go pour a couple gallons of cheap bleach in it, if you
don't want to go buy pool chlorine...Household bleach has lower
concentrate than pool chlorine (5%vs12%), but it should knock
the skeeters back some...It will only be temporary as stagnant
water will turn green again when the bleach dissipates....

Just pour it around the perimeter of the pool....

Better mow their grass too, as tall grass can hold lots of skeeters
too....
Good luck...


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## horse2292 (May 7, 2010)

Hey run a power cord over there and turn the pumps on and clean it up. If the banks on it I would get it all cleaned  up and have a pool party. If you call the bank they may pay you to clean it up. If its clean its easier to sell. Just an idea.


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## 7Mag Hunter (May 7, 2010)

Running the pump will not clean the water...It will clog the pump
filter, with all the stuff that is in the water (leaves/bugs)...You
would have to backwash the filter 3-4 times each day, add water
and chemicals (shock/Algecide)and then after 3-4 days it would
be kinda clear....Not really a simple affair....Especially if it is your
neighbors (abandoned) pool !!!!

2-3 gallons of cheap bleach and walk away.....


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## DYI hunting (May 7, 2010)

7Mag Hunter said:


> 2-3 gallons of cheap bleach and walk away.....



I don't think 3 gallons of bleach would be enough to kill them, especially without the ability to circulate the water with the pump.  Plus bleach burns off like chlorine shock and will only last at most a week before the chlorine level drops off low enough for mosquitoes to go back to breeding there.


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## GaMudd (May 7, 2010)

I'm curious as to where you are in Lilburn.  I also live in Lilburn and have the same problem.  I lodged a complaint with the Code Compliance folks this AM.  
I'm going to try the dunks this weekend.  If that doesn't knock them back, then I'll try some type of oil.  
No worries about ruining the pool.  The liner has been coming off for  the last year.  It will probably be cheaper to remove it than to fix it.


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## tzingleman (May 7, 2010)

GaMudd, I am kind of in between Lilburn and Norcross... around Hwy 29, Rockbridge Rd. and Jimmy Carter. I'm going to try the dunks as soon as I can get to the store. I'll probably have my roommate call code enforcement too, maybe it'll speed up the response a little bit. The mosquitos are getting REALLY bad and my zapper can't keep up.


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## Brassman (May 9, 2010)

Call the County Code Enforcement Office.  Tell them you want the mosquito problem taken care of immediately, or you will call your County Commissioner & your local TV station.  Tell them the property is vacant & needs to be secured,  as does the pool.  Stay on top of them.  Do not go into the neighbor's yard - it is not your yard & it could cause problems.  The county code people will contact the mortgage company & tell them to have the property & pool secured.  

The mortgage company will have their Property Management Company come out & take care of the property.  If they don't do it, the county will have it done & bill the mortgage company.


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## lake hartwell (May 15, 2010)

The dunks are avail at Tractor Supply 6 for $10. A pump would certainly reduce the pellets needed.


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## Streetsweeper (May 16, 2010)

You need 30 gallons not 3, a avg. inground pool is around 28,000 gallons.


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## dawg2 (May 16, 2010)

Streetsweeper said:


> You need 30 gallons not 3, a avg. inground pool is around 28,000 gallons.



I too  was wondering how 3 gallons of bleach would make a dent in a 30,000 gallon pool


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## FishingAddict (May 16, 2010)

I was on the HOA and got a call about a pool like this in the hood.

I called the county, and they told me that they would resolve the issue immediatly.  However, they did tell me that it's uncommon for the mosquitoes to be breeding in something as deep as a pool they are more common in something more shallow.  They said it's more likly that something was left out collecting water in the abandoned yard and the long grass and unkempt yard did not help.

That being said- the best, longest term solution is what Dawg2 said.

Bleach evaporates out, dunk tabs do the same thing, oil is dangerous- if there are truly larvae in the water, you put the fish in and forget about it as long as there is something for them to eat (like larvea).


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## packrat (May 16, 2010)

*Hmm*

10' Long stick with knife attached after dark. 2-3 small holes in the deep end will drain the majority of it in just a day or 2 and still can be repaired easily with patch kit. I installed pools one summer for a company and I was also responsible for in-water repairs of holes due to many objects. Then chunk in 2 of those Clorox tabs that go in back of your toilet. You could also buy a few packs of the shock treatment and disolve it in a bucket of water and pour it in there. Beware of the fumes, it's like breathing in fire.


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## Gentleman4561 (May 16, 2010)

I would go with the fish.  They wont cause any damage and if the pool ever gets fixed up it will be easy to get rid of them.  Pouring oil or gas could get you in trouble.  wafers, tablets and bleach wont last that long and will end up expensive. If nothing can be done about it the foggers work really well but they arent cheap.


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## tzingleman (May 16, 2010)

Thank you for all of the replies. I talked to my other neighbor about the situation and he said he's going to call code enforcement. 

Although highly tempted, I don't think there's much that I can do myself. There is an eight foot hight fence around the entire yard and I'm not about to get caught messing with the gate. I could probably hit the pool from my side of the fence, but it would be obvious where anything came from if I missed. 

I'm going to keep calling the county until it's dealt with and encourage my neighbors to do the same.

Thanks again guys.


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## VisionCasting (May 17, 2010)

Throw in an opened container of Dawn (or similar) soap.  You can launch it from a distance.  The soapy film will rise to the top and prevent mosquitoes.  Cheap, effective, non-toxic and will not do any damage.


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## treadwell (May 17, 2010)

I started dumping my leftover crappie minnows in my ex neighbors pool. There were thousands of lavea swimming in it. The liner was torn bad so I didn't feel to bad.It worked so well that I started using the pool as my "bait tank". I would catch small bream and dump them in it. When I got ready to go catfishing I would carry my thrownet over there and BING -bait in a minite! (No more mosquitoes either!)


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## FishingAddict (May 18, 2010)

packrat said:


> 10' Long stick with knife attached after dark. 2-3 small holes in the deep end will drain the majority of it in just a day or 2 and still can be repaired easily with patch kit. I installed pools one summer for a company and I was also responsible for in-water repairs of holes due to many objects. Then chunk in 2 of those Clorox tabs that go in back of your toilet. You could also buy a few packs of the shock treatment and disolve it in a bucket of water and pour it in there. Beware of the fumes, it's like breathing in fire.




How do you stab holes in concrete with a knife?

Besides, causing property damage while tresspassing may not be the best way to go.


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