Duck poop in pools- What's up with that?

[Threehearts]

First let me say that I am an animal lover but do have a few issues with exposing myself and my family to a health hazard. Just as I don't let my children poop in other people's yards, I do not expect that my neighbors will let their dogs poop in mine. When I am at a resort I am adamant that our family does NOT feed the birds as is so obviously posted on signs at WDW. No only is this bad for wild birds but it also encourages unsanitary conditions(in particular, bird excrement at the outdoor eating areas). I guess my question is, "is anyone else not delighted to see birds swimming across the resort pools?" I just read a thread about the BC pool that mentions avoiding the YC side because of bird "doo" in the pool. YUCK! YUCK! Correct me if I'm wrong(and I truly mean it) but isn't bird poop a major carrier of some not so pleasant bacteria etc.? Didn't mean to tirade but just felt the need... Threehearts

 

[cindyfan]

Just plain GROSS!!!
I agree about the birds (usually the ducks) in the pools.....just is NOT sanitary!!!!
It just really irritates me when people continue to feed the birds even they are asked not to!!
Birds carry some aweful diseases!! And even all the magic at WDW can't stop that.

YUK!

 

[GEM]

There were lots of ducks in the pool at the Wilderness Lodge last December. It kind of grossed me out, but others seemed to like having them there. I didn't actually see any poop, though.

 

[jennymouse]

I agree. You see all these threads talking about folks getting sick at WDW.....worried about the water, etc. I wonder if part of the problem isn't bird droppings where we eat & swim?

 

[4greatboys]

I am an animal lover too but I do not want them to poop where I am sitting, eating, swimming and so on. If you see them in their habitat then thats great but otherwise it can get pretty nasty.

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

While I'll admit this is really gross, I would hope that the pools are maintained such that these unpleasantries, do not pose a health risk. If they were not, I would be more concerned about he 50 or so toddlers then the occasional mallard.

But better safe then sorry, swim with your mouth closed.

 

[tnkrbell]

Last time we stayed there were ducks at the WL pool and I was grosed out so I chased them out of the pool (I didnt hurt them just scared them) and the lifeguard yelled at me to leave the ducks in teh pool!!!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Tink: Maybe the lifeguard was confused between the REAL ducks and the RUBBER duckies?

Fortunately, I've never encountered this at any Disney resort pool (ducks in the pool or duck poop either), but last trip to WL in May, I did notice some duckie-doo on the walkways. Overall, I saw a LOT more ducks at resorts and parks.

If I saw duck-poo in a pool, I'd immediately tell a CM and ask that it be cleaned immediately. Yuck!

 

[Threehearts]

I do wonder as jennymouse does if swallowing contaminated pool water is making some people sick. I can tell you that as a veteran ICU nurse in the pediatric dept. of a huge Children's Hospital that we get many more children in with a serious disease called HUS from lake water than pool water. I'm thinking we need some duckie diapers(LOL)! Threehearts

 

[libmil]

Every time we go to a WDW resort they are forever closing the pools.....Not for Duck poop, but those other little critters roaming around the pools......The ducks don't bother me as much as the people who don't put a swimming diaper on their kids.... what a drag to have to watch the fecal patrol come storming through with the pool net and the buckets of bleach.....Pool closed for an hour or so.....

 

[melomouse]

Was just at WL and the ducks were in the pool EVERY morning.
I am going to sound like a total "babe in the woods" here, but on this one, I trust Disney. I cannot imagine them having hundreds of kids in the pool all day and risk them getting sick from poop( duck or otherwise) in the pool. There is so much conscientiousness about protecting themselves from possible lawsuits, that I fully expect the pool system is constantly flushed, cleaned and rotated through - especially at WL - it's obviously a recycling system.
One guy got in the pool in the middle of the day and sarted commenting loudly about how ilthy the pool was. I didn't agree - could still see my feet and chalked up the bit of cloudiness to tons of kids in sunscren in the midday sun.
In any case, my kids logged many hours and seemed fine. Another thing for me not to go crazy worrying about...

 

[Ned Land]

I agree with the comments on this thread.

My whole family got hand, throat, and mouth disease on a Disney cruise earlier this year, and I suspect it was from the germs in the pool. Thinking about the pools at Disney reminds me of eating sausage. You enjoy it, but you don't want to know what is in it.

The bird ca-ca may be the least of the problems. If children aren't wearing swimming diapers, there could be a couple hundred pounds of dump and tinkle in the h2o.

At least on the cruise, they drain it and swab it down after every cruise.

By the way, most swimmy diapers are not good at keeping the dump in for very long.

 

[peachgirl]

There's some things in life you just don't want to think about too much....like what are hotdogs really made out of?? At any rate, I think it's a pretty safe assumption that Disney dumps (sorry for the pun) enough chemicals in their pools that I'd defy anything to live in the water for long. You're a lot more likely to catch something from a bathroom faucet or drinking out of a waterfountain than in a sanitized pool.

 

[pooh6890]

I am assuming that none of you swim in lakes or oceans? I would guarantee you there is more crap there than any chlorine pool at Disney....even WITH the ducks

 

[Ned Land]

Peachgirl is right.

It is like going bowling and renting a pair of bowling shoes. You don't think about what nasty, sweaty foot was just in there.

You just put those wet shoes on and bowl.

 

[Wilma Flintstone]

I was very confused/concerned when, after alerting a lifeguard about a "poop" found (and stepped on) on the sandy bottom of the YC pool, he shrugged his shoulders and told me it was duck poop. Nobody jumped up to get a net, which is what I assumed would be their course of action. Every morning you could see a mommy sitting on her "nest" in the middle island of the YC pool and every evening they all congregated there for a quackin' party. I worked at a nursery school summer camp and know firsthand the protocol involved in keeping a pool clean and sanitary. At the very least, the pool personnel should be at the ready with nets to scoop up the offending mess. I look back at this memory with a smile because I remember thinking it was from a diaper and then was told, very matter-of-factly, "oh, it's JUST from the ducks." ...oh--O.K.!
All the best, Wilma

 

[jennymouse]

I know bird poop carries disease. There have even been stories on TV news magazines about folks who have lots of birdhouses/birds in their yards getting some form of disease. I used to manage an apartment complex with a large stand of trees on the back of the lot. Zillions of blackbirds started coming there year after year....bird droppings everywhere. It was a pain, but I didn't think too much of it. One of the tenants complained, talking about disease and all. I contacted our health department and they confirmed our tentants fears. After trying all kinds of things to make the birds go away to no avail, we ended up having to cut down most of the trees.

 

[Threehearts]

You know, Ned Land and peachgirl are probably right on the money. My point was, please don't feed the wildlife unless you would like them to visit in undesireable areas. I guess we should have a more positive attitude about the condition of the pools and put our faith in WDW. I certainly didn't mean to put anyone in a panic about using the resort pools but just wanted to know how others felt. We already know how the DISers feel about the swim diaper issue and so I've heard that Disney has assembled a medical team to suture all swim diapers to the upper leg... Susan

 

[Sammy]

There are signs all over our local swimming lakes/ponds about not feeding the ducks. Feeding them encourages them to stay around and contaminate the water with their "poop". We've had beaches closed in the past because of the contamination. If that can happen in a large body of water like a lake, I'd hate to think about a large population of ducks using the pool as a potty!!

 

[skuttle]

GF pool ~ June 2000

When I saw the duck in the pool, I thought it was cute....I love ducks. I never thought about the gross side of it....yucky!


I hate when I see people feeding the birds....I want to tell them something but I don't want to be rude. I did notice near the french fry stands in the parks there are signs that say something like "birds in this area may be aggressive". So true!