# Swimming in a Pond



## Bro. Williams (Jul 21, 2008)

Alright, I'm green. Not green as in "green thumbed", but green as in, I don't know anything but what comes from books green. 

My father-in-law has a pond. My eldest son wants to swim in it. 

Is it safe?

What precautions (out of the ordinary, not related to any other body of water), should be taken?

Anything extra to input?


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

There could be leeches and snapping turtles. Leeches will get on you and suck your blood but I'm not sure if snappers normally attack people.

To keep us from swimming in his fish pond Grandpa had us convinced that snappers just lay in wait on the bottom of the pond waiting for little kids to stick a tender finger or toe into the water, then CHOMP and we'd be missing fingers or toes!


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## NWoods_Hippie (Nov 16, 2006)

Is there a lot of Ag run off into this pond, ie. cow poop, toxic fertilizers, various other chemicals? Or is it a city pond, where there could be a really good amount of run off into the pond from city streets, oil from cars and such.

M.


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## Bro. Williams (Jul 21, 2008)

to answer both:

1. no leeches, but yes on snapping turtles

2. pond is up-farm from the horses, spring-fed, and fairly new (dug 3 years ago). 

My wife's brother swims in it, but he is more-or-less a moron about 75% of the time (he is improving I must admit), so I can't bank on it's safety just based on that.


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

I grew up swimming in a farm pond. Its all we had. Watch for hazzards such as rocks, stumps, or other obstructions. Most farm ponds in this area have about a foot of mud (silt) in the bottom. If heavily used by cattle, the water may not be the cleanest, but, it never hurt us any. I wouldn't advise drinking it tho. but, then I wouldn't drink from a city pool either. I never actually heard of anyone getting bit by a snapping turtle either.


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## sewsilly (May 16, 2004)

My country children have spent their childhoods swimming in ponds, lakes and rivers and everyone is hearty and healthy. In 23 years, one friend caught 'beaver fever' from kayaking in a river.

I was usually reasonably sure that the pond was safe based on the fact that wildlife, and plantlife seemed normal and fine.

snapping turtles hurt... so if he gets bitten, it will shorten his pond swimming experiences....

dawn


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Better watch out for water mocassins too!


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## Christine in OK (May 10, 2002)

My dad once had a snake crawl up on his back while he was swimming in a pond. I think that's probably why I basically never saw that man get in the water - that, and he would have had to put on shorts.

I would probably have him wear water shoes if you let him - I never actually swam in our ponds growing up, but waded and played around them, and have stepped on my share of rocks and/or sticks poking up out of the bottom. Pain-ful, believe me!


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## anette (Jun 20, 2008)

how old is he? that will play into the answer. i would advise him to never swim alone. otherwise, if the pond looks clean, no algae or pond scum on the surface, i would say okay. 

there is a bacteria that grows in stagnant water that can enter the body through the nasal cavities and cause serious illness. sorry i cant be more specific about it.

anette


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## Laura (May 10, 2002)

My issues with ponds, 
I don't go in murky water. 
I don't swim or fish in anything with ducks or geese. 
I don't like duck muck.
I hate, hate, hate getting nibbled by Pond Perch!


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## BobDFL (Jul 7, 2006)

It depends on where you are.

Here in Cent. FL. and South ponds in the summer may not be the safest. Forget the gators it's the amebas that'll kill you quicker than anything. We had 4 kids die last year in the Orlando area only because of it.

They go in through the nose (but sometimes rarely the ears and eyes) and attack the brain like meningitus (I think that's spelled right). By the time the symptoms show up it's usually to late.


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## paulaswolfpack (May 22, 2006)

water mocison snake nest could get hunderd bites real quick there were two kids that died in Paris,Ark. a few years ago like that jumped right into them,Paula


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## SteveD(TX) (May 14, 2002)

I'd be more afraid of the critters that you can't see than the ones that you can. Lots of bad things could be in that water, esp. if the water is stagnant and uncirculated.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

I have a spring fed pond at my place in Florida and I loved swimming in it. Way better than swimming in a pool full of chemicals.

If you are worried about water quality, take a sample to the local health department for testing.


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Laura said:


> I hate, hate, hate getting nibbled by Pond Perch!


That's what I was going to say....we swam in ponds as a kid, and just picked off leeches and watched for snakes. But those little fish bit HARD! If they find a mole or a freckle they can make you bleed!


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## FL.Boy (Dec 17, 2007)

BobDFL said:


> It depends on where you are.
> 
> Here in Cent. FL. and South ponds in the summer may not be the safest. Forget the gators it's the amebas that'll kill you quicker than anything. We had 4 kids die last year in the Orlando area only because of it.
> 
> They go in through the nose (but sometimes rarely the ears and eyes) and attack the brain like meningitus (I think that's spelled right). By the time the symptoms show up it's usually to late.


From my understanding amebas are at the bottom of ponds and lakes. ???


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

There's an old saying "If you're going to die by the rope, don't fear the water"...

I've got all sorts of critters in my pond, and sometimes they bite, if they're really hungry... but it doesn't stop all of us from diving in... I went swimming twice today, accidentally, while breaking in my 'new' sailboat...


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## WeaverRose (Jun 29, 2007)

A young man in the next county just drowned while swimming in a farm pond - don't know what happened. This is the second pond-drowning this month in the area - I guess things happen that no one can predict. As a mom, I'd vote no, but that's just me. You're his dad, your job is to keep him from doing things that aren't safe, because (speaking as the eldest female sibling to three brothers) boys think everything will always turn out fine and recklessness is the most fun ever.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Like I said before, I think Grandpa made up the snapping turtle attack story just to keep us out of his pond. I still fear swimming in murky water.


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## Christine in OK (May 10, 2002)

I also second the never swim alone advice. My kids are all swimmers, and I still won't let the youngest (5) swim in our little 2' deep pool alone. He has to have one of his brothers with him, I have to be home, etc.


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## Quint (Nov 12, 2004)

Just try not to swallow the water and you'll be fine. Not going to kill you but might require you to take up residence in the bathroom for a few days.

I went water skiing in the Mississippi a couple of years ago and hit a piece of driftwood which caused me to crash rather hard. In the process I managed to swallow a bunch of river water. The gastrointestinal consequences were nothing short of spectacular.

I grew up swimming in ponds, creeks and rivers including the Mississippi and never had any sort of problems except for the occasional leech or occasional stomach bug. Heck the water at the local pool made me far more ill because of the high chlorine content. I was usually sick for a day to two after swimming at the pool since being raised on well water I wasn't accustomed to chlorine.


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

Raised on the river, here, too. Hate pools.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

If you have beavers in the area you can swallow water containing a very serios bacterial. A friend of mine was ill for over a year, I was fine. You never know.


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## Bro. Williams (Jul 21, 2008)

I thoroughly appreciate all the input. I didn't have a chance to check the replies after my last entry last night, so I didn't have all the extra stuff to worry about until this morning. 

Thankfully, everything went fine. No turtles, no snakes, no fishes, no hooks, etc. 

In addition, I agree with the "never swim alone" motto, so there were 7 of us total and an extra adult on the shore to boot. 

I would like to look into the water snake issue a bit more, and I think it is a great idea to get the water tested just to make sure. At the moment, there are about 5 springs that lead into the pond, so the water moves through pretty quickly, resulting in a pretty clear, non-stagnant pond. Also, no ducks, geese, or other birds at present. 

Thanks again!


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## Rita (May 13, 2002)

We always swam in the ponds we had when we lived in MD but not sure if water in warmer areas might harbor parasites. I wouldn't swim in ponds in FL but did swim in lakes. I always felt if it had fresh water flowing into it it would be cleaner than a pool.


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

Laura said:


> I don't swim or fish in anything with ducks or geese.
> I don't like duck muck.


Yep, these are the reasons I'd never get in my pond. That and the giant snapping turtles.:nono: I did grow up playing in creeks and rivers, though


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## Shepherd (Jan 23, 2005)

I don't know where you are but we had a pond dug and my husband swims in it regularly. If he sees a turtle, he gets rid of it. We haven't had a snake problem, nor any leeches.


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## Bro. Williams (Jul 21, 2008)

Shepherd said:


> I don't know where you are but we had a pond dug and my husband swims in it regularly. *If he sees a turtle, he gets rid of it. * We haven't had a snake problem, nor any leeches.


How does one do that? Traps?


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## rootsandwings (Apr 20, 2004)

don't dive if you can't see the bottom.

snapping turtles generally run away given a chance.


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## Shepherd (Jan 23, 2005)

DH uses a gun.


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## Jan Doling (May 21, 2004)

The amoebas can be stirred up by activity on the pond bottom. The temperature of the water is what you have to watch. I think they can live in anything above 80 degrees. The spring-fed swimming holes are usually 72 degrees. I'm not sure if they can enter the system through a cut on the foot or not, but a woman in Jacksonville died from ski-jetting on the St. Johns River...she had a cut on her leg. That death may have been caused by the flesh-eating strep bacteria instead of the brain-eating amoeba one. Why take a chance? Check with your local experts. We only swim in pools, springs, or salt water here, although I grew up swimming in ponds and canals and somehow survived.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

I'm one of those "raised in the 60's" kids so EVERYTHING we did is now considered too dangerous by most of today's parents....Don't know why we swam in stagnant farm ponds after running the cattle out of them but now we worry about our kids getting sick. About the worse thing I can remember happening was a lot of time on the toilet and stomache cramps....There IS one nasty little critter out there that I don't recall being told about as a kid. Risk is VERY low as you have to basically snort the rascal up your nose (who hasn't done that at one time or another?) and have it get stuck at just the right place......Bad news is that if you accomplish this feat, the chances are very high that you will die. 
I think that is the critter (Jan and some others) mentioned.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/naegleria/factsht_naegleria.htm


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## TonyE (Aug 1, 2007)

texican said:


> There's an old saying "If you're going to die by the rope, don't fear the water"...



Now...what part didn't she understand, the rope or the water?


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## Paumon (Jul 12, 2007)

Bro. Williams said:


> How does one do that? Traps?


If you don't want to kill the snapping turtles you can trap them, yes. Just put a live-catch cage with a fish head or other meaty bait in it at the edge of the water with the far end of it a bit up on the bank so when the turtle gets trapped in there he can still breathe. Then you can move the whole cage to a new location and tip the turtle out.


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## Horse Fork Farm (Jan 3, 2006)

We used to swim in a cousins pond that was fed by springs, it was clean but the real killer was an undertow current created by the springs flowing in one side and out the other. It almost pulled me down and out of a lifejacket once! Truly truly terrifying... if you stayed in one area you were fine but if you drifted over to the other side it would grab you. Just worth mentioning I think.


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