As a grown-ass woman who can’t swim, I am fond of the various flotation devices available for pool season.
Without them, I’m stuck in the shallow end with the kids where just relaxing and enjoying the water can be difficult amongst the inevitable splash fights.
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Floaties come in lots of shapes and sizes, but it’s hard to beat the popularity of the pool noodle.
They’re bright, wiggly, and can bend to fit any floating position preference regardless of body type. They’re also one of the most inexpensive pool toys.
But it turns out that we should really we careful about how we store them.
Pool noodles are made of polyethylene foam, which gives them all those air pockets. The hollow center adds even more air, improving the buoyancy.
And apparently, this also makes them the perfect home for snakes.
It kind of makes sense.
The long, hollow tube is the perfect place for a danger noodle to hide.
Oh, and the open air pockets inside the foam are also perfect for snakes to lay eggs.
Snakes mate in spring and lay their eggs in early summer.
So you may want to be careful if you’re getting last year’s pool toys out of the shed in May/June. Or just toss them and buy new noodles. They cost about a dollar.
During the pool season, don’t leave the noodles in the grass or near bushes where snakes may decide to move in.
Unfortunately, pool noodles aren’t recyclable.
It can seem wasteful to throw them out, but luckily, they have many other uses outside the pool. If you retire them in the fall and turn them into something new , then you won’t need to worry about snakes in the spring.
