Moles Under Pool

by Brandon
(Texas)

I am currently replacing the liner in my pool and have read numerous comments that have been posted about the best pool base i.e. sand and styrofoam. The problem I have is that I seem to have a mole problem and the evidence shows that they burrow under the pool and the weight of the water causes the tunnel to collapse and create ridges in the pool bottom.

What is the best course of action I should take? Would styrofoam over the sand be the answer?

Hi Brandon.

I have never had experience with anyone using the foam as a cure for gophers. We have only had a couple of cases where they created a real problem. Most of the time when my customers had gopher problems I was able to fix the damage and they were able to get rid of the gophers.

I did have a couple of cases where the gophers were stubborn and kept coming back. These people poured a concrete slab for the pool and never had problems again.

Concrete is an expensive way to go but it is fool proof. Other options might be rolls of heavy roofing material under the sand. Pieces of flat scrap metal would work if you had access to them. It might even be possible to use a Gorilla pad under the foam for an added bit of protection. Large rolls of used carpeting would work also.

I guess it all depends on what is available to you and how much you want to spend.

Moles Under Pool Causing Damage

by Kolby
(Rhode Island)

My family's pool has theses tunnels and other dips under the pool liner. I'm wondering if there is any way that we can fix it with out having to remove the liner and redoing the sand. The local company said that it would cost like $2000 to fix it.

I'm wondering if we can put anything into the tunnels from under the pool where the Moles have been entering the bottom of the pool?

Hi Kolby.

Moles under the pool liner is a problem you share with a lot of above ground pool owners. The most fool proof answer is to set the pool up on a concrete slab. That gets a little expensive and is not a possibility for most people. There are other ways of dealing with them.

You should first be trying to get the pests off your property. Traps, poison, pest control or whatever it takes. Your friends and neighbors may be able to come up with some ideas that work in your area.

As far as the pool goes, it depends a lot on the age of your liner, as to the direction you take with repairs. Older liners cannot be drained and refilled; they loose their elasticity over the years and are best left full of water. If it is an older liner you may want to hold off and do the repairs when it comes time for the next liner change.

Some liners only last 5-7 years at best, while others can last 15 years or better, so how long until your next liner change is impossible for me to know based on the information I have.

With a younger liner it is possible to drain and refill without damaging it. The method I prefer for doing this is to leave an inch or so of water in the bottom. This keeps the liner from shifting and keeps it from shrinking. By removing several top rails the liner can be pulled back and held out of the way while the base is repaired. The liner then gets reset in this area and you move on to another spot. This is time consuming, but leaving water in the pool can mean the difference in replacing the liner, or reusing your existing one.

I do not know of any way to do repairs under the liner with the pool full of water. Unless the damage is severe your best bet is usually to wait until the next liner change and deal with it then.