Get rid of them???? I named mine! With the amount of chemical chlorine required for pool maintenance, I am doubtful you are in danger of any health hazard whatsoever - even if you have a salt system (which generates chlorine). If you are determined to get rid of them so-be-it, but the health hazard is minimal. And as far as pool cleanup, we've noticed minimal more than what we already have to do if you have a good cleaning system.

The ducks will show up around 6 am every morning. They WILL fly directly into the pool with a large splash (I've observed this).

"Bill and Hilary" started showing up every spring before the last presidential election (thus their names) about 5 years ago. She was lame at the time due to some sort of leg injury. "Bill" never left her side during her recovery. I've since learned that Mallards sweetly mate for life. I suspect they picked our back yard as the quietest because we have no children - only dogs who don't go in the pool. She was recovering with her injury and it was "safe" for them.

They just showed up a few weeks ago this year, and our pool has never suffered any ill effects from their visits - nor required any extra maintenance at all.

We do find the occasional egg each year under a rose bush or plant (and once in the middle of the pool), but I look at their arrival each spring as a blessing.

Oddly enough, my 4 dogs (of varying and questionable breeds) have come to accept them as a part of the "pack". They don't bother them at all.

Bill and Hillary show up each spring around April over the past years, and settle in. Each day they take a morning swim, then hang out under a nearby tree throughout the morning. They take off for the lake for the rest of the day (we're only 3 blocks from the very large and popular Old Hickory Lake), and then return once again in the afternoon in hopes of a few breadcrumbs or cracked corn fallen from the bird feeder. With a few "quack quack"s from my father-in-law, they approach the deck to be fed by hand.

During mid-summer they disappear for a little while with sporadic visits back to us. Our assumption is that she has had chicks and they are staying at the lake for that.

Around October they disappear once more for warmer climates during the winter. I always look forward to their return as a harbinger of spring. Bill and Hilary have their pick of pools in our neighborhood to hang out in, but they always pick us. I kinda like that.