If you've chosen to install a swimming pool close to a tree or trees in your garden, then you have some extra work to do. Trees add to pool maintenance jobs and can pose a safety risk.

Having your trees pruned back may be a good idea. What are the benefits of doing so?

Reduce Tree Waste in the Pool

If a tree overhangs a pool, then anything that falls off its branches could end up in the water. This increases the amount of work you have to do to keep your pool clean.

For example, leaves and small twigs may fall into the water from overhanging branches. Even if they land pool-side, it's won't take much of a breeze to blow them into the water.

Plus, if birds perch on branches over your pool, then their droppings will go straight in your water. Even if your pool filter catches nasty stuff, this isn't hygienic.

If you prune your tree's branches back so they don't extend over your pool area, then this kind of thing is less likely to happen. Nothing can drop from a branch into the water if the branch doesn't go that far.

Maintain Pool Climbing Safety

Even if you fence your pool off securely, you have to create a zone around the pool that is non-climbable. For example, you shouldn't have anything close to the fence that a child come climb on to get over into the pool itself.

Sometimes, trees pose a problem here. If you have a tree close to the pool, then your children could climb up it to get over the fence. If they're really intrepid, they could climb the tree and use a branch as an impromptu diving board.

If you prune branches or even have some larger overhanging branches lopped off, then you cut off some climbing access. However, if your kids could still climb up the trunk to get into the pool area, then you may need to consider having the tree removed.

If you aren't sure if your trees need work to make them pool-friendly and pool-safe, then ask local arborists for advice. They can prune or remove overhanging branches if that makes things easier.

They may also have ideas on how to make your tree less easy to climb generally. If you do decide to have the tree removed or even moved, then they can talk to you about this too.