7 Pool Safety Products to Protect Pets and Wildlife This Summer

Summertime presents unique challenges for pets and wildlife, especially poolside. While pools provide a welcome escape from the sweltering heat for humans, they can be hazardous to many nearby critters due to slippery walls and pool chemicals. To avoid mishaps and potential catastrophes, it’s essential to be proactive in ensuring the safety of all creatures, great and small. Continue reading to discover seven products designed to safeguard your pool and other backyard water features.

The Original FrogLog

Billed as a “critter-saving escape ramp,” the original FrogLog has been keeping critters safe for 25 years. Wildlife biologist Rich Mason designed this ingenious product after witnessing too many frogs dying in a friend’s pool. Determined to create a solution, Mason invented the FrogLog. Mason’s simple design allows frogs to exit the pool safely.

An inflatable floating platform is attached to a pouch filled with sand or pea gravel, which sits on the pool’s deck and acts as an anchor. A mesh ramp attached to the floating platform gives frogs a boost as they navigate their way to safety. Depending on the size of your pool, you may need more than one FrogLog ($21.99).

Escape Ramp For Stock Troughs

Although Rainmaker Wildlife’s escape ramp is designed to be used in stock troughs, it can also be attached to the wall of above-ground swimming pools. The ramp is made of 50% post-consumer recycled materials and UV-stabilized polyethylene, which resists cracking and does not rust. It is easy to install, with no drilling required. The Rainmaker Wildlife ramp is available in four sizes: 12-inch, $42; 20-inch, $72; 22-inch, $79; and 24-inch, $85.

Bee and Frog Ladder

Those with backyard pools have likely witnessed various critters in their skimmers, including important pollinators like bees. Bees cannot skim across or hover over water and require solid footing to drink safely. When bees land in a pool without any support, they will struggle, become waterlogged, and drown. Although bees cannot swim in the traditional sense, they can sometimes move themselves across the water’s surface in search of an escape. The bee and frog ladder from The Printed Maniac provides bees with a way to get out of the water. Suitable for pools, fountains, and other backyard water features, the ladder is available in nine colors and three sizes: small, $7.19; medium, $10.39; and large, $13.59.

Pool Fence DIY Pet Fencing by Life Saver

This industrial-strength mesh fence with tension-based support is an ideal solution for keeping small pets safe around the pool. Available in 12-foot sections with four aluminum integrated poles, the fence is two feet high. The fencing, which five-star reviews say is relatively easy to install, is also available in four-foot and five-foot heights. Based in Delray, Florida, Life Saver is the only fence company recognized as a Safety Leader by the Pool Safely Campaign, an initiative of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. See Life Saver‘s DIY pet fencing ($64.48 for a 2′ X12’ section) and their other products, including gates and accessories.

Waterdog Adventure Gear Boarding Steps™

Some dog breeds simply love a good swim, jumping in with reckless abandon, only to have trouble getting out of the pool. WAG Boarding Steps™ provide a safe, stable, easy-to-use design that will not damage your pool liner and allow you to avoid heavy lifting, as your dog has the freedom to enter and exit the pool with ease. The design is suitable for both above-ground and in-ground pools. The ladders, made in Michigan, can support up to 135 pounds. Five-star reviews highlight the product’s quality and how quickly dogs adapt to the design. See the WAG Boarding Steps™, $299.99, along with WAG’s other water dog merch.

Pool Patrol Pool Alarm

Keep everyone safe this summer with a Pool Patrol pool alarm. The unit’s alarm is activated by excessive water movement. The alarm features an adjustable sensor to prevent false alarms, and the indoor receiver adds an extra layer of security and peace of mind. The Pool Patrol pool alarm meets the requirements of ASTM Safety Specification F 2208, a standard designed to improve pool safety and reduce injury and accidental drowning. This pool alarm requires a minimum weight of 15 pounds to activate, making it unsuitable for smaller pets. Pool Patrol pool alarms are available from many resellers, starting at $249.99.

LunaSafe Water-Activated Alarm/Monitor/Strobe/Transmitter

LunaSafe takes pool safety to the next level with its water-activated alarm, monitor, strobe, and transmitter. Simply attach the water-activated transmitter with strobe to your pet’s collar and turn on the receiver. When the transmitter gets wet, the receiver emits an audible alarm—similar to a smoke alarm—that can be heard up to 50 feet away, depending on ambient noise such as lawn mowers or loud music. The receiver and the transmitter both strobe, providing visual cues.

Up to 25 transmitters can be paired with a single receiver, and multiple receivers can be connected to a single transmitter. Both the receiver and transmitter have rechargeable batteries that are Qi (wireless) compatible. LunaSafe offers a variety of packages and options, starting at $89.99.