Pool service professionals spend the majority of their workday outdoors, where hidden hazards can be lurking in some of the most routine places they work. Equipment pads, pump rooms, landscaping, storage sheds, and pool enclosures can provide ideal hiding places for insects, spiders, reptiles, rodents, and other wildlife that may pose serious health and safety risks.

Those risks are not hypothetical. Pool professionals routinely reach into enclosed equipment, panels, and other areas where wildlife can remain hidden until disturbed. In some cases, an ordinary service call can turn into a serious medical emergency.

OSHA does not have a single standard devoted specifically to wildlife encounters in pool service. However, under OSHA’s General Duty Clause, employers are required to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. When wildlife presents a foreseeable and serious hazard in the work environment, employers may have a responsibility to address that risk through training and safe work practices.

Common Critters Pool Technicians May Encounter

Spiders

Equipment pads, valve boxes, timer boxes, and storage areas often provide shelter for spiders.

Black widow spiders are widespread in many parts of the United States and commonly found in dark, undisturbed locations. Their venom can cause severe muscle pain, cramping, nausea, elevated blood pressure, and difficulty breathing. Brown recluse spiders are more common in portions of the South, Midwest, and central United States and can cause bites resulting in significant tissue damage.

Technicians should wear gloves and use a flashlight when inspecting enclosed equipment. Avoid blindly reaching into boxes, sheds, or panels, and shake out gloves and clothing before use.

Stinging Insects

Wasps frequently build nests inside pool heaters, equipment enclosures, fences, and under eaves. This broad group includes familiar stinging insects such as yellowjackets and hornets, which can become aggressive when a nest is disturbed. Bees are generally less aggressive unless threatened, but technicians should exercise caution around hives, particularly if they have known allergies.

Before beginning work, visually inspect equipment and listen for buzzing around equipment pads. Active nests should be given a safe distance and reported to the property owner rather than removed without proper training.

Scorpions are another concern, particularly in the Southwest and parts of Texas, including Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. They may hide beneath equipment, inside boxes, under debris, or in other dark, protected areas around a pool.

Fire ants are common around equipment, landscaping, and irrigation systems. Beyond painful stings and possible allergic reactions, unexpectedly stepping or kneeling on a mound can cause a technician to lose balance while handling chemicals or equipment.

Not every stinging insect is obvious. In 2019, pool technician Angelica Felix was servicing a pool in Winter Park, Florida, when she placed her hand on the ground and contacted a puss caterpillar camouflaged among acorns on the pool deck.

Its venomous spines caused intense pain and swelling, which Felix later described as the worst pain she had experienced next to childbirth. The incident shows why technicians should pay attention not only to equipment, but also to where they place their hands and knees.

Mosquitoes and Ticks

Mosquitoes can transmit diseases including West Nile Virus, Dengue, Zika Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis in some regions. Long sleeves when practical, EPA-approved insect repellent, and reducing standing water can help limit exposure.

Technicians working around brush, tall grass, leaf litter, landscaping, or wooded property lines may also encounter ticks. Appropriate repellent and long pants can reduce exposure, and technicians working in tick habitat should check their clothing and skin afterward. Attached ticks should be promptly removed with fine-tipped tweezers. Fever, rash, fatigue, or flu-like symptoms following a tick bite warrant medical advice.

Reptile Hazards

Snakes

Pool technicians may encounter snakes beneath equipment, in landscaping, under storage containers, or beneath pool covers. Depending on the region, venomous species may include cottonmouths, copperheads, rattlesnakes, and coral snakes.

Pool companies have experienced these encounters firsthand. Gohlke Pools has previously warned about snakes around swimming pools after its own technicians encountered them while servicing customers’ properties.

The consequences can be severe. In January 2025, an Arizona man nearly lost his left hand after a rattlesnake bit him while adjusting a valve in a backyard water feature. Familiar with the possibility of rattlesnakes and black widows, he even shook the valve box before reaching inside.

The snake never rattled, and he never saw it before it struck. The bite ultimately required emergency treatment and multiple rounds of antivenom.

Technicians should never place their hands where they cannot see, should watch where they step around vegetation, and use tools rather than their hands to move debris. All snakes should be given ample space regardless of species.

Alligators

In states such as Florida, alligators may occasionally be found in retention ponds, canals, and swimming pools. Technicians working near natural bodies of water should survey the property, remain alert around ponds and canals, and never approach or feed wildlife. If an alligator is found in a swimming pool, local wildlife authorities should be contacted.

Rodents and Small Mammals

Rats, mice, opossums, and raccoons may shelter in equipment rooms, sheds, and storage areas. In addition to bites or scratches, they can leave contaminated surfaces and nesting materials and damage electrical wiring.

Technicians should inspect enclosed spaces before entering and use caution around droppings or nesting materials. Significant infestations should be reported to the property owner.

Stray and Domestic Animals

Dogs

Even friendly dogs may become protective when strangers enter their territory, creating a serious hazard for technicians entering customers’ backyards.

In January 2025, a pool service technician in Moorpark, California, was attacked by a customer’s dog during a routine service visit. She was hospitalized for nine days, required multiple surgeries and skin grafts, and was left permanently disfigured.

Property owners should secure pets before technicians arrive. If a dog is loose or behaving aggressively, technicians should not put themselves at risk to complete the service call.

OSHA Recommendations for Wildlife and Insect Safety

Employers should provide training covering hazard recognition, safe work practices, emergency response, first aid awareness, appropriate PPE, and incident reporting procedures.

PPE may include safety glasses, work gloves, long pants, protective footwear, long-sleeved shirts when appropriate, and insect repellent.

Companies should also establish a clear stop-work policy. If a technician encounters an active nest, venomous animal, aggressive dog, or unsafe enclosed area, the technician should be able to leave the immediate work area and notify dispatch or a supervisor without pressure to complete the visit.

What To Do If You Are Bitten or Stung

If a technician is bitten or stung, move to a safe area, notify a supervisor, and seek medical attention for severe reactions. Call 911 immediately for difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, mouth, or throat, fainting, confusion, rapidly spreading symptoms, a suspected venomous snakebite, or multiple stings accompanied by a systemic reaction.

A suspected venomous snakebite should be treated as an emergency. Call 911 or arrange immediate emergency transport. Do not attempt to catch the snake, apply a tourniquet or ice, cut the wound, or attempt to remove venom. Keep the person calm and remove rings, watches, or other constricting items before swelling develops.

Any required incident documentation should be completed after the immediate medical situation has been addressed.

Best Practices for Pool Technicians

Before beginning work, inspect the area and look inside equipment enclosures before reaching in. Pumps, heaters, chemical storage areas, landscaping, and the ground surrounding the equipment pad should all be checked for potential hazards.

Wear appropriate PPE, remain aware of your surroundings, and avoid rushing when accessing concealed spaces. Hazardous wildlife conditions should be reported to management and the property owner.

A Few Seconds Can Make the Difference

Pool technicians face unique hazards while working outdoors. From venomous spiders and snakes to aggressive insects and animals, training, hazard recognition, PPE, and adherence to OSHA safety principles can significantly reduce the risk of injury.

The danger isn’t always obvious. A snake can remain hidden inside a valve box even after someone checks it. An insect small enough to disappear among leaves or acorns can send a technician for medical treatment. Even a customer’s dog can turn a routine service visit into a dangerous situation.

A few extra seconds spent inspecting an equipment pad, checking the ground, or opening a cabinet carefully can prevent a serious injury. For technicians entering unfamiliar backyards every day, looking before reaching should become second nature.

Summary: As Presenting Sponsors of the USLA National Lifeguard Championships, taking place on Fort Lauderdale Beach as Ocean Rescue marks its 100th anniversary, The Water District and ISHOF spotlight their shared commitment to water safety education.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug 3, 2026 — The Water District and the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) are supporting the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) National Lifeguard Championships as this year’s Presenting Sponsor. Taking place August 4–7 in Fort Lauderdale, the Championships are hosted by Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue as the agency celebrates its 100th anniversary, and are held as part of Drowning Impact Awareness Month, observed each August. More than 800 competitors from USLA chapters nationwide will compete in ocean swimming, surfski, rescue board, beach, and team events, and the Championships are free and open to the public.

“Our lifeguards save hundreds of lives on this beach each year, and most people never realize how close the calls really are,” said Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue Chief Alex Bagwell. “Hosting this Championship in our 100th year lets us put that message in front of more people than ever.”

Ocean Rescue is urging beachgoers to swim near a lifeguard, watch the flags, and check conditions on arrival. That day-to-day type of vigilance is what The Water District and ISHOF are working to support well beyond the competition.

“Drowning prevention isn’t seasonal, and neither is our commitment to it,” said Mario Caprini, CEO of Capital Group Ventures. “That’s why water safety education will have a permanent home at The Water District, long after the Championships end.”

ISHOF shares that commitment. “This year alone, we funded more than 13,800 swim lessons for over a thousand kids,” said Dr. Bill Kent, Chairman of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. “Every one of those lessons is a life that’s safer around water. That’s the legacy we’re building on through our partnership with The Water District.”

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for Florida children ages one to four, and nearly all of those deaths are preventable.

Both organizations built their plans around water safety. In 2026 alone, ISHOF’s Every Child a Swimmer program awarded swim lesson scholarships to 1,184 children and invested over $442,000 to help prevent drowning — work that will have a new home at The Water District.

The $220 million destination, under construction at 501 Seabreeze Boulevard, will house the reimagined ISHOF experience in tandem with The Fort Lauderdale Aquarium, offering youth programming, school field trips, and year-round experiential water safety education for South Florida families, and drawing visitors from around the world to experience it firsthand.

These are long-term commitments; the six layers below can start protecting a family immediately.

Six Layers That Save Lives

Used together, these six layers cut drowning risk the most. The Water District and ISHOF are urging families to put all six in place this August, and beyond:

Know the hazard: Understand that drowning happens fast and silently, often without splash or sound.

Supervise closely: Always keep eyes on children and have them within arm’s reach in and around water.

Install alarms: Add door chimes and pool alarms so a child heading toward water unsupervised is heard immediately.

Fence the pool: Install four-sided fencing with self-latching gates, separated from the house, to stop unsupervised access.

Enroll Kids in Swimming Lessons: Enroll children in formal swim lessons.

Learn CPR: Know how to act if every other layer fails, in the minutes before rescuers arrive.

Within The Fort Lauderdale Aquarium, a dedicated water safety exhibit will feature interactive rescue displays for visitors of all ages.

About The Water District
The Water District, a $220 million development at 501 Seabreeze Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, is set to open in late 2028. A Public-Private Partnership (P3) between Hall of Fame Partners, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and the City of Fort Lauderdale, it will feature The Fort Lauderdale Aquarium, premier dining, and event spaces. With no upfront cost to taxpayers and over $53 million in public infrastructure upgrades, The Water District will be a world-class destination for aquatic sports and education, benefiting both locals and visitors. For more information visit thewaterdistrict.com.

About the International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame has honored the legends of aquatic sport since 1965 and is the only institution of its kind in the world. It advances water safety worldwide through its Every Child a Swimmer program.

For most people, Cammile Adams is synonymous with elite swimming. A two-time Olympian, Adams spent years competing at the highest level of the sport, where speed, endurance, and technique defined success.

Today, however, her priorities look very different.

As a mother and owner of a Houston swim school, Adams says the rules she enforces with her own children have very little to do with producing great swimmers. Instead, they’re designed to prevent tragedy.

With World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25, Adams hopes families will rethink what water safety really means. Her message is simple: knowing how to swim is important, but it’s only one layer of protection.

Based on both her experience as an Olympic swimmer and as a mother, Adams recommends that every family adopt a few simple habits:

• Require children to ask permission before entering any pool, lake, beach, or other body of water—and never allow them to enter the water unless an adult is actively watching.
• Assign a dedicated “Water Watcher” whose only responsibility is supervising swimmers—no phones, no reading, and no distractions.
• Inspect safety barriers and rescue equipment regularly, including fences, self-latching gates, pool alarms, life rings, and reaching poles.
• Don’t mistake confidence for competence. A child who enjoys the water or has completed swim lessons may still lack the skills to recover from an emergency.
• Get in the water with young children whenever possible, especially while they’re still developing their swimming skills and judgment.
• Start swim lessons early, with infant and parent classes available as early as four months of age, to build water familiarity and foundational safety skills.

A Parent’s Perspective Changed Everything

“When I was training and competing, everything was about speed, technique, and performance—not about water safety,” said Adams.

“Becoming a parent shifted my focus entirely.”

Today, whenever she sees a swimming pool, lake, or even a bathtub, she views it through a different lens.

“I’m thinking, ‘If something unexpected happened, would my child or another child in the body of water know what to do?'”

Rather than simply teaching children to float, Adams wants them to actively move toward safety.

“We never want a child to be able to just jump in and float. That will do them no good at some point. We want them moving towards safety.”

Swim Lessons Are Just the First Step

Most parents walking into Adams’ swim school for the first time already know they’re learning from a two-time Olympian. But what she hears from them is often the same:

“We don’t want our child to be a competitive swimmer—we just want them to be safe in the water.”

It’s a response Adams has become used to hearing.

“As a mom, I completely understand that,” she said. “Even though swimming took me to the Olympics and will always be a huge part of my life, that’s not what I want parents to focus on. The most important thing to me is that every child learns to be safe, confident, and capable in the water.”

Swim lessons, she emphasizes, are not about creating elite athletes—they’re about giving children the skills and judgment they need to survive.

Even then, she cautions, lessons are only one piece of the puzzle.

“Swim lessons are one of the best things you can do for your child, but they don’t make a child drown-proof,” Adams said. “Sometimes, as kids become more comfortable and confident in the water, parents naturally start to relax a little—and that’s when it’s most important to stay vigilant.”

Starting Kids Off Early

As childhood drowning has become the leading cause of death for young children in the United States, more parents are introducing their children to swim lessons at an earlier age. Adams says many families are surprised to learn those lessons can begin as early as four months old.

That doesn’t mean infants are learning to swim laps. Instead, she says early lessons are designed to build water familiarity while laying the foundation for self-rescue skills that develop over time.

“At that age, we’re not teaching different strokes,” Adams explained. “We’re building water familiarity and the foundational skills that lead to self-rescue later, like comfort with submersion, learning to roll and float.”

She says one of the biggest misconceptions is that parents expect babies to come out of lessons effectively knowing how to swim.

“That’s not the goal. The goal is removing fear and building the base that everything else gets built on.”

Parent-and-child classes also teach moms and dads how to safely introduce children to the water and reinforce pool safety habits from the very beginning.

But Adams cautions that starting early—or even years of swim lessons—should never create a false sense of security.

Water Confidence Can Create a False Sense of Security

One of Adams’ biggest concerns is the misconception that a child who appears comfortable in the water is automatically prepared for an emergency.

“I see it all the time,” she said. “A child who has had swimming lessons might jump into the pool without hesitation, smile the whole time, or want to swim on their own. To a parent, that can look like they’re completely capable in the water. But confidence and competence are two very different things.”

Children who feel confident in the water are often the most likely to jump in without thinking—especially if they believe they already know how to swim. That’s why Adams strongly reinforces a non-negotiable rule: children must ask permission and confirm that an adult is actively watching before entering the water.

A child may willingly jump into a pool yet lack the skills necessary to recover if something unexpected happens.

“They may not know how to recover after jumping in awkwardly, roll onto their back to rest, or make it safely to the wall.”

Rather than simply rescuing her own children at the first sign of difficulty, Adams uses controlled situations as teaching moments.

“I’m constantly asking, ‘What’s your plan?’ I want them to think before they act.”

One Adult, One Job

If Adams could convince every family to adopt just one new habit today, it would be assigning a dedicated Water Watcher whenever children are around water.

“There needs to be one adult whose only job is to watch the kids—no phone, no reading, no conversations that pull your attention away,” she said.
“The reason I’m so passionate about this is that most drownings don’t happen when no one is around. They happen when everyone assumes someone else is watching.”

In group settings, Adams recommends rotating the Water Watcher every 15 to 20 minutes to help maintain focus.

“It’s such a simple thing to do, but it’s one of the most effective ways to keep kids safe around water.”

Water Safety Works Best in Layers

As communities observe World Drowning Prevention Day, Adams hopes parents remember one simple principle: no single precaution is enough.

“One of the biggest mistakes I see is parents feeling like they can relax once their child has had swim lessons,” she said.
“I always tell families to think about water safety in layers.”

Those layers include swim lessons, attentive supervision, secure fencing and self-latching gates, and emergency preparedness.

“When those layers work together, that’s when you’re giving your child the best protection possible.”

For Adams, that’s the lesson that matters most.

“No single layer is enough on its own. Even kids who swim well still need someone watching them, because accidents can happen to anyone. That’s why I never let my guard down with my own kids, and it’s the same advice I give every family who walks through our doors.”

Featured Photo Credit: Safe Splash Swim School