Pool Spiders!

[LuvOrlando]

OK so I've been watching a good friends dog and it's about 100° in NE Pennsylvania today so I came by to take a swim. I pulled back the filter top and before pushed my hand in I noticed three gigantic spiders which kind of looked like they were sitting there on purpose not dead just waiting for something to eat. So of course I didn't stick my hand in because I'm afraid of spiders but when I went to walk in and climb on the raft I noticed another spider was sitting on the steps so I grabbed the skimmer and when I scooped it up it started moving - akkkk. So my daughter tells me that she's heard about water spiders I had a pool when I grew up in New York but we never had pool spiders so what gives? Anyone know what kind of spiders these might be? Do they bite? More importantly is there an easy way to kill them?

 

[holden]

Haven't heard of water spiders (we have a pool near Philly), but maybe they were seeking out water? I would just scoop them out somehow and put them farther away from the pool. I try not to kill spiders because they eat other pests.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Holden, I suppose I could've done that but I didn't I just ran away lol

 

[akhenaten]

I remember having some that walked on the water when we had our pool...

 

[englishteacha]

We're in Maine and encounter what we call "Dock spiders" which are HUGE suckers that live under docks/rafts on lakes. They don't usually bother us unless they get submerged then they come up from below! Nothing like seeing a dozen teen girls leap into the lake to get away from them. They don't hurt anyone. They're just huge.

 

[pooh2001]

Eek

 

[aprilchem]

Water skaters, maybe? They look like spiders with very thin legs and can "skate" across the water. We used to get them in our pool when I was a kid. Don't pick them up because they bite!