LOL No you will not get any bugs from pond water. Well maybe a leach. When the water gets cold I put on my chest waders to keep my legs warm and get in there and cut the plants back scoop out the muck remove the pumps and anything else that needs to store for winter. Put in the air stones and cover the pond. Done till march next year.

I use chest waders, too. It allows me to withstand cooler water temps in the late fall.

There have been many discussions on the safety of getting into a pond and the pathogens and little nasty critters that might attack you.

I don't have an opinion either way from the safety point of view. I don't get in just because it seems so gross to me. :-)

Here's a link to one of those discussions.
Anne

Here is a link that might be useful: Plond discussion

I'm in zone 5 and really don't have to worry about poisonous snakes or other toxic critters and have been getting into my ponds for 15 years to perform maintainance on my pumps, cut back plants, etc. The only thing I ever worry about is slipping and falling because the bottom is quite slick so I wear rubber shoes or crocs. The water in both comes up to my hips and I always make sure to wash off when I'm done. Maybe I'm crazy, but I have never worried about disease or parasites. The fish (goldies only) swim up and try to push me and I have been sideswiped by a few frogs. If I had Large Koi, I wouldn't get in. They would scare me! SO, for 15 years I have been fine.
Maybe being somewhere else in the country that has more scary things would deter me, but not in NW Ohio!

I have been fish keeping for 16 years, never got sick or bitten from pond water or it critters. I have Koi that are 30" long! they are harmless.they do not mind my visits to there home now and then. Don't drink the water but other than that you are pretty safe.

I don't have any problems getting in my pond when it's necessary to tend to it. My fish seem to love it. And if I can keep them from getting parasites then I figure I won't get any either. I wouldn't go in head first on purpose though, for fear of swallowing the water. And would not let a child go in, for the same reason. I have never seen anything in my fish pond that I would be afraid of. Glenda

I had a pond for many years with only a pump for the waterfall, no filter of any kind. I would drain some water out from time to time and add clean water as needed, but I never had any problems from contact with the water. I would think that ponds with all of these filters that they now have would be at least as clean as a lake or stream that you probably swim in - maybe cleaner depending on the area.

Last week on Home Time, a home improvement type show on PBS, they were building a pond. The designer of the show's pond has a huge pond in his backyard that they showed pictures of. His pond has plants and koi etc., but he designed a deep area specifically for swimming. It sounds like they have been swimming in it for a few years with no problems to the people or the fish. Again I would think your pond would be as clean or cleaner than any lake or stream.

Just my thoughts.

There are better ways to go about cleaning the pond other than climbing in but it sounds like you have make up your mind. I would suggest that you should avoid pond water contacting any open wound you might have. After all, you are dealing with a substance that is, at least partly, poop.
I often post the following link just because it is so fascinating to see the critters that co-exist with us and that we are so seldom aware of in a drop of water. It is a jungle out there. Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Ron's Pond Scum

Hm...I've been following this thread and thought I'd chime in. Here are my two cents:

First and foremost - people need to use their own judgment. Immune systems vary from person to person, as does the cleanliness of your pond. If you don't normally become sick easily, I don't believe that it presents a serious health risk, so long as you take some common-sense precautions (for example, at the very least rinsing your legs, arms off with water from the hose after leaving the pond and washing your hands thoroughly with hot soap and water).

Second, and broached in the previous paragraph is the cleanliness of your pond. Fact is that some people have "cleaner" ponds than others (and by "cleaner
I am referring to overall water quality. Clear water isn't necessarily clean, and vice versa. Again, common sense certainly comes into play here. If you have a pond that you commonly fish dead out animals out of, then I would certainly not be comfortable going into that pond without boots or waders.

One last thing to take into account and on a more personal note, I think people are rather germaphobic nowadays - humans are overall a lot more robust than we give ourselves credit for. My hobby/profession as a biologist has me jumping in the water all over the place, from roadside ditches and cattle ponds (which are quite disgusting, I must admit) to crystal clear mountain streams and northern springfed kettle lakes and everything in between (fens, vernal pools, bogs, rivers, etc etc etc). I have never come down with any illness that was waterborne or as a result of my going into the water. Now, again, I do use good old common sense and stay out of obviously polluted bodies of water ("biohazard" signs are a dead giveaway ;) ) and always rinse off immediately and wash my hands immediately afterwards.

Hope this helps...here are a few shots of some of the stuff I get myself into...

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Stream in Ohio

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Nasty cattle pond in Nebraska

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Much nicer pond in Nebraska

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Ditch in Florida

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Swamp in Florida

LOL, Mikey. You do get into your work, don't you. I have to agree with just about everything you say but I notice you are wearing shoes in that water. Since I have been known to travel with buckets, bags, garden tools, boots and a very sharp buck knife in the trunk of my car as everyday equipment, I think we might have interests in common.
That swamp would be very familiar territory to me and the Ohio pond reminds me of home. I just might need encouragement to get into that cattle pond though. What were you seining for? Sandy

Hi Sandy -
Yup, I always wear my amphibious shoes (Salomon Tech) - they are made for people who kayak or otherwise hike in areas where frequent stream crossings are required. I don't wear boots because they are heavy and when they are inundated it seems as though they are never the same and grow bacteria to the extreme. I like wearing shoes as opposed to knee-high boots or waders because it doesn't limit where I want to go in a wetland and I don't have to worry about deep spots where I might otherwise breach boots or waders. When its colder, I toss on a pair of chest waders and am just more careful about where I walk. I always wear some sort of footwear however - I would never recommend going barefoot in those areas.

First picture: surveying for mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus)

Second picture: seining for barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium)

Third picture: seining for barred tiger salamanders

Fourth picture: just playing around, catching Florida Redbellies (Pseudemys nelsoni) and young alligators (or at least attempting)

Fifth picture: searching for Amphiumas

Mikey, you better hope that you don't catch a young alligator in the Fl swamps. They make a noise that their mother can hear all way across a lake and it doesn't take her very long to get there either. But you probably already know that. Glenda

Hi Glenda -
Yes, I am very aware of that :) My specialty is herpetology (I am currently teaching it at the University of Nebraska right now) and I've had to share the water with alligators many times since I was a teenager. Most of the time they don't bother me at all. Also, its not just the mother that will respond to distress calls - other females will, as well as males (although the males are usually coming in to make a meal out of the young one).

Gotta love your warm climates. At this time of year it's long johns, sweat pants, insulated hip waders that come up to my armpits and insulated water garden gloves that come up to my upper arm. Even then I sometimes forget and boy is that water ever cold when it goes down the front of the hip waders. Had thin ice on the pond this am and my fish are still in the pond. If I don't get them inside soon there will be ice. If you do get in your pond have a good shower after--like some said fish poo in the pond. Happy swimming.

Mikey,

I just have to admire your study of herpetology. My dad was an amatuer herpetologist and I remember vividly one weekend he was visiting a friend who owned a pet store. I was six years old and had a 4 foot long black rat snake draped over my shoulders while I was munching some candy very relaxed and all.

All of a sudden a hysterical women starts screaming at my father that she is turing him in to children services. lol!!!!! We had lots of fun collecting water snakes and such. I learned to love reptiles, turtles, snakes and all sorts of fun critters. There used to be monthly meetings in Rocky River Ohio that my dad attended. Do you belong to a club?

Regards,
Lisa