Reddit reviews Frog Log Escape Devices for Small Animals in Pools (2)

• KNOWLEDGE. Go to TroubleFreePool's Pool School and READ, READ, READ. Learn to take care of your pool by yourself and save literally thousands of dollars, so you don't need a 'pool guy' and you don't need the pool store. Buy a real test kit (a TF-100 from tftestkits.net with the XL option and the SpeedStir) is exactly what the doctor ordered. I spend maybe 10 minutes every other day making sure my chemical levels are good and skimming the surface, and maybe 1 hour/week brushing the sides and bottom. My pool stays ultra-clear and sparkling (really, it looks like a glowing, shimmering crystal when the sun hits it) and all my chemicals are within range, with a minimum of effort or money. Not only should you learn the chemistry behind it, it's a good idea to learn about all the basic maintenance. After you're comfortable maintaining it manually for awhile, think about setting up some automation. But learning the how and why, first, is important.
  
  
• Get yourself a large umbrella policy as part of your insurance coverage. Even with a pool fence, people can still drown in your pool (especially young children). There was a post in /r/insurance awhile back from someone who had a mentally handicapped person climb their pool fence and drown in their pool. There's also this thread in /r/legaladvice from someone who had neighborhood kids continually climb his yard's 8ft privacy fence, including using ladders to get over it, to use his pool without his permission, even after calling the police. If those kids were to drown in the pool, even with all that, you'd be damn sure the parents would sue.
  
  
• I'd recommend you get a pool fence to help keep young children out of your pool if there's ever a chance that they will be near it. Pools are death traps for small kids -- unintentional drowning is the #1 cause of death in children ages 1-4 and the #2 cause of death for ages 5-9. You've got to watch them like a hawk! At least 4ft tall with a gate that swings open away from the pool, auto-closing hinges, and an auto-locking latch. Most gates on fences these days come with auto-closing hinges, and you can get a Magnalatch for $50 on Amazon. It comes with 2 keys, by the way. Install it up out of reach of young kids. I installed my pool fence for about $3,700 for about 170+/- linear-ft of fencing. It was lots of work (multiple weekends!), even with a friend, but I saved a ton of money over hiring a fencing contractor.
  
  
• Probably a 4th return jet just to help keep the water moving and eliminate dead spots, and possibly a 3rd skimmer.
  
  
• I'd get a cleaning robot, especially if you have trees nearby. I don't have one yet so I'm manually vacuuming out dirt and leaves that don't make it to the skimmers, and I'm hoping to get one before autumn or else I won't be able to keep up with the leaves as they fall.
  
  
• A variable-speed pump is good for saving money on electricity but the payback period can be awhile vs. a traditional pump. My normal pool pump uses about 1,700-watts of power and that's the only speed option. You can run a variable-speed pump on as low as ~150-watts to keep the water moving and you can generally program times and speeds (ie: 6am-8am 750rpm, 12pm-4pm 2000rpm, 6pm-9pm 1250rpm etc). Huge energy savings, but large up-front cost. I replaced my motor recently for $130; a high-quality variable-speed pump goes for $800+. You'll save money on your electric bill but it will be a few years before you recoup the upfront cost.
  
  
• Try to keep the equipment near the pool and away from your house. No one wants to hear the pump droning on for hours. Also, the closer the equipment is to the pool, the less head loss you'll have with your pump. But keep it where kids can't get to it.
  
  
• Make sure the pool and all the equipment are properly electrically bonded, and properly grounded. The pool itself, all the ladders and handles, and the equipment, should all connect to each other with a big copper wire so they share a common ground and don't potentially build up a voltage between them. No one wants to drown because they were electrocuted while getting into the pool.
  
  
• A heater will be nice depending on your climate and when you want to open/close your pool, and a bypass valve so that you don't constantly have water flowing through it if you're not using it.
  
  
• Speaking of valves, don't cheap out, get the good stuff.
  
  
• You'll get to know your local wildlife very well, because a lot of it might end up dead in your pool or skimmer baskets, especially if you live near a wooded area. Toads, frogs, mice, rats, spiders, beetles, birds, bird nests, turtles...I've found all of those dead in my pool (except the turtle, it was still alive). Find a way to pull your skimmer baskets up out of the skimmers without having to dunk your hand into the leaves and muck. No one wants to accidentally pick up a dead mouse or get bitten by a spider just because the skimmers need emptying. Keep your chlorine levels in line and diseases and other issue won't be a problem from dead animals. Even so, I felt better doubling my normal chlorine dose after I found a dead rat in my pool a few weeks ago. These are supposedly pretty good for helping reduce dead animals in your pool since it gives them an escape route. I'll buy some soon.
  
  
• Be prepared to have higher than average utility bills, especially if you run your heater at the start/end of the season. I have a 22,000-gallon pool and that amount of water takes a lot of energy to warm up and keep warm if the ground around it hasn't warmed up yet. Figure out the minimum amount of time your pump needs to run to keep your pool clean and don't run it any longer. Your pump has to run for the heater to work so if you're heating the pool, you're getting the double-whammy on your electric/gas bill. A solar heating system might be a good idea if you're in an area that supports it.

Let me provide a solution: https://smile.amazon.com/Swimline-Hydrotools-70200-Swimming-Froglog/dp/B00SZAFDZY/ref=sr_1_2

Salamanders and the very odd mouse are pretty much all I find in my pool now. It used to be chipmunks and frogs on an almost daily basis. I've watched a chipmunk use one of mine..

You need this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SZAFDZY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_qbUzzbVB6ERHW