How can I create an escape ramp for animals that fall into a nearby disused swimming pool.?

Question

I live in the country and on some property nearby there is a disused swimming pool that is filled with dead animals that fall in and drown.
The owner refuses to cover it or fill it in and won't put up a fence either.

He will allow me to put somthing in that will help them get out but I am completely at a loss for how to build something that will work for creatures as small as frogs and large as deer. I can't tell how deep the water is as it's all disgustingly gooey with dead things.

Any ideas gratefully appreciated as I am worried sick about pets and children in the area.

And yes, I have already notified every authority and there is no one who can force him to fix the problem.

Answer 1

I think you'll need to build a ramp similar to that used to load a horse box. Get a strong piece of wood at least 4 foot wide and as long as possible then nail planks about 4 foot by 3 or 4 inches horizontally along the wood with a 5-6 inch gap between each one to create a kind of grip for the larger animals. Smaller animals should be able to scurry up easily too.
You need to attach the wood to the side of the pool unless you can somehow prop it on the opposite side, without knowing how the pool is constructed I can't help you there.

Answer 2

Well, if they've made it to water, chances are they won't be able to swim; so prevention is better here.

Try looking at ultrasonic "kangaroo chasers" that are designed to frighten animals off the road, this would be better (and not as visually distracting (though teenagers and younger children can hear ultrasonic frequencies)) than just an escape path.

You could also try installing a fine mesh fence around the existing pool fence to prevent wildlife from even entering the area.

Ask on the forum linked below, they should be able to help more.

Answer 3

I think that's a really nice idea, but unfortunately frogs aren't intelligent enough to use a ramp. But it's worth a shot, right? You can check Home Depot, they have a lot of simple instructions for building things like that (more geared toward to handicap accessibility ramps, but it's the same principle).

Answer 4

something as simple as a pair of 2x10's with 2x4's attached every couple of feet to form a ladder like shape may work (adding some heavy screen between the 'rungs' would makeit even more likely to work), attach one end to the side of the pool/outside the pool and the other down in the water (you may need to put ballast on one end & weight the other).
i am not sure about for deer, but maybe, and for anything smaller that should work.

as a side note, this definitely sounds like a health code violation of some sort. I would continue to frequently call every agency that just might be able to help, starting at the county level and work my way up to the federal if i had to in order to force some sort of action by the owner. (sheriff, health dept, animal welfare/control, local mayor/commissioner, state representatives, EPA, sanitation, etc, etc)..also have you tried contacting activist groups? they can put alot of pressure on owners & even more on gov't agencies, to get something done.

Answer 5

I was thinking more on the lines of putting dead animal bodies in it so it would stink and a lot of people would really complain about the smell and that the authorities would really have to force him to take some serious action.

Or maybe you could put two big ramps made of just flat wood.

Answer 6

Just get a longand wide wooden planck and put it as a ramp on the edge of the pool. Good of you to think this. Put some small beams of wood on the top surface , transversally to the planck (like a ladder, but nailed to a planck), so that it is not so slippery.

Answer 7

The Board of Health wouldn't do anything?!

At the very least, put a large sheet of plywood in there.