Dead animal in pool

[Poolproblems]

We have a 15ft above ground pool in our garden (in UK). For various reasons the pool hasn't been used since last year. It can't be seen from the house due to garden layout and for various MH reasons I've not been in the garden until the last week or so.

At some point the cover has come off the pool which is now half full of stagnant water, and a dead animal (we think badger). I called the council but they are unable to remove it, Rentokil only remove animals from inside. The only company I can find want £450, and can't guarantee removal. Which I will have to pay unless I can find an alternative although it is twice what the pool cost!

Do I just need to suck it up?

Place marking for the photo!

I struggle to see how a badger would get in an above ground pool. They are heavy and not exactly agile

@CheshireChav

Can you take a photo? Then we can see the set up and come up with more helpful ideas

No one wants to see a mouldy dead dog

If you really can’t do it yourself then you’ll have to pay the money to have it done. I would personally drain the pool and heave it into a black bag myself. With two people, one holding the bag open, you could slide it in with a broom.

Please leave the pool drained after this. It’s really irresponsible that something has drowned in there. It could be someone’s pet cat next time, and drowning is a really horrible way to die for any animal.

You need to find a local farmer or two, won't phase them!

I'd also probably suggest getting some extra large cremation bags from the local vet. They're made to hold bodies, black bags aren't...

I'm not sure how to drain it, we couldn't get any water out when we opened the valves last year so bailed it out with buckets. I think the only way to do it would be with a pump? (we did have one for the pool but it broke) Will get looking on Amazon.

It was drained last year. At some point since then the cover has come off and allowed rainwater to (half) fill it. I thought the cover was secure, I should have checked.

How are you sure it isn’t a dog? How could a badger get in but not a dog?

@Poolproblems

I'm not sure how to drain it, we couldn't get any water out when we opened the valves last year so bailed it out with buckets. I think the only way to do it would be with a pump? (we did have one for the pool but it broke) Will get looking on Amazon.

Were you planning never using it again? No wonder the company want so much money if its not actually possible to drain it without resorting to buckets.

It doesn't actually sound like you are able to maintain the pool so wouldn't it just be easier to get someone to fill it in permanently? At least that would stop anything else drowning needlessly.

Get a bigger net or get in and drag it out. Then drain and clean the pool.
I bet if you offer to pay somebody on your local Facebook you will get somebody to do it for a few hundred ( probably less but as you will not do it you should pay a decent amount) .
You need to fit a cover properly or get rid of the pool, how dangerous is this.

I certainly didn't intend for an animal to die in it, however it's happened. I accept it was stupid not to have checked the cover was still on.

Surely it's a possibility it's a dog?

Last year we emptied it by hand and cleaned once it was drained. The pump stopped working last summer; my intention was to buy a new one this year if the children still wanted to use the pool, or to dispose of it if not. Obviously finding it full of water and with a dead animal was unexpected.

None of my neighbours have dogs, my property has a 6ft fence on all sides of the garden. I'm assuming a badger might tunnel in (I have no experience of badgers, I grew up in London and have never seen one) I accept a dog could tunnel in too but it seems less likely given no one bordering my house has a dog.

Can't see how a badger could get in and not a dog. Maybe it's a fox, they're good at scaling fences and such. I don't even want to think how long it took to bail out a 15ft pool. It takes hours for our 10ft pool to drain through the 3 valves which allow it to pour out!

It could be a fox, we do have a lot of local foxes. It did seem bigger than our foxes, but I suppose that could be the effect of being in water :(

Draining it by bucket took 4 of us an entire day. And that was at least (mostly) clean water.

I'm looking for a pump now.

If it's a 15ft pool I'm assuming it's at least 5ft from the ground to the lip off the pool? There's absolutely no way a badger could climb up the sheer side of a plastic pool.

I'd cut the bottom bit off from the outside, firstly with a series of slots to let the water out. Then dismantle the sides. You'll be left with a dead animal on the large, round bottom of the pool.. Wrap the dead animal in the sheet and dispose of it appropriately or get the council back out for £50 to take it from a flat sheet. No climbing in the pool full of stagnant water needed.

We've had a couple of chipmunks in our inground saltwater pool over the years. There's a strict cleaning protocol you'll need to follow in our case (specific additional pool chemicals and adjusting the chlorine filter) and I would assume that a) given the overground pool is likely smaller and b) your animal is much bigger, and therefore the concentration of germs will be higher, so your best bet is to drain it fully and thoroughly clean it and any filtration systems.

It sounds like the cost to clean and get a new pump are high. I would just slash the sides let the water woosh out then fold the sides around the dead creature. Then call any of those we collect your rubbish and they will take it away. For less than a skip would cost. If they won’t take the manky creature just prod it into a extra strong rubble bag and sling somewhere wild or get the council guys back.

So an animal drowned due to your negligence and you can't scoop it near you to lift out by yourself and bury it? I think you could if you tried.

I'd cut the bottom bit off from the outside, firstly with a series of slots to let the water out. Then dismantle the sides. You'll be left with a dead animal on the large, round bottom of the pool.. Wrap the dead animal in the sheet and dispose of it appropriately or get the council back out for £50 to take it from a flat sheet. No climbing in the pool full of stagnant water needed.*

This is probably what i would do. It would mean getting rid of the pool entirely but lets be honest your teens aren't going to want to use it again after this

You need to get the water out ASAP, as you are currently macerating whatever is in there, and it will be providing a breeding ground for flies etc. You'll likely find that the water smells worse than the remains once they're out.

You need to do it yourself or pay someone. This is not a job for the council and would be a waste of tax payers money.
It’s up to you to keep your pool safe and covered to prevent this from happening. You need to just get on with it and will have to drain, clean and sanitise the pool. Poor animal.

I can't do it myself. Going into the garden at all is quite a big thing for me currently, and this is beyond me. I didn't leave the pool deliberately full of water.

I will ask the children if they would rather we dispose of the pool completely and then taken away which I take the point would be cheaper than getting the animal removed and preserving the pool.

Pay the money. My ds had this at work a few months ago - large pond (but not that deep) and a deer sadly drowned in it. They got a pest control firm to come and remove it. Not sure how much it cost but worth the money I'd say

Very large heavy duty finishing get, rubber gloves, bin bag, face mask and a packet of strong mints to mask the smell! It’s how we got rid of a dead seagul rotting away in the water butt.