I love the concept. And I need something like this (even though most of my critters aren't getting pulled into the skimmer now that I have a variable speed pump). The trouble is the "ramp" is separate from the cover. So every time I take off the cover to check the basket, it comes apart. And it's a pain to put it back on and then make sure it stays on as I'm putting it back in the skimmer. Not a dealbreaker, but could be better designed.

We have an in-ground pool, and also a very large pond. We have removed a countless amount of dead frogs in the two years we have owned the pool. We have tried keeping all outdoor lights off in hopes of not attracting bugs that the frogs may want to eat, and also have used the popular "frog log" without much (if any) luck at all.

I bought this critter skimmer at the beginning of the season and have removed just TWO frogs over the past three months! Which is absolutely AMAZING! And both of those frogs were alive in the skimmer but were just too large to climb up the little ramp and out of the hole. They were sitting at the bottom of the ramp, just waiting for someone to let them out. Seriously... I am just a regular person, who paid full price for this thing on a very slim amount of hope that it would work, and it has surprised me by making our pool almost completely frog free.

I had the unenviable task of constantly pulling dead toad and frog corpses from my skimmer. I always felt bad for the poor critters who would dup meeting their end in my skimmer. I did a lot of research and found the Critter Skimmer and decided to buy it.

It is well made and looks great. The ramp snaps into place (although mine didn't quite fit together perfectly as the groove for connecting the ramp to the plat didn't come together perfectly but it's certainly good enough). The ramp sits into the water which will allow most critters to crawl up and get out of the water. The opening (if they can figure out how to get up the ramp) is kind of small and I suspect that some toads would not be able to squeeze through however I anticipate that they could at least sit on the ramp until I check the skimmer (and let them go).

I have found a few dead frogs in the skimmer however it's far less than I have in the past so this is certainly doing the trick. It would definitely allow chipmunks to escape. I supplemented the critter skimmer with Frog Logs elsewhere in the pool. The combination of the two allows the majority of critters to find a way out of the pool. It's a small investment and it helps you save the wildlife in your yard AND frees you from doing critter corpse removal on a daily basis.

This has saved so many frogs and who knows what else. Our pool seemed to be a beacon for small creatures and we'd find many frogs dead the day after a rain. Since installing this, we've had a much smaller number of dead frogs in the pool and none in the basket. The only ones that die are the ones who avoid the skimmer somehow. The parts snap together, but it's difficult to get it to snap. I was afraid I was going to break it while trying, so mine isn't exactly assembled perfectly, but it still works. All in all, I'm very satisfied that this is saving lives and making my life easier.

I have already had at least one toad climb up the ladder. S/he was halfway up the spiral ladder when I checked! I have also placed jagged rocks in the plastic baskets so the critters can get to the "lily pad" more easily. I have to agree with what another reviewer mentioned; the "lily pad" is too high above the rushing water in the skimmer for the toads/frogs to really get to easily. That's why I put a series of rocks in the plastic baskets so that the tired creatures would have something to grab onto to get to the escape route. The manufacturer should lengthen the ladder and lower the lily pad. We are lucky to have a retractable cover for the pool which I keep closed when we're not using the pool. It doesn't stop toads from gathering under the edge of the cover, however, and one jumped in the pool when I uncovered it and had swum the entire length of the pool before I could fish him out at the other end. They are fast! Another reviewer said the covers are used "right out of the box - no assembly - not quite true. The ladder and lily pad piece have to be attached to the lid - no big deal. In tiny letters on the lid is shown the direction in which to always place the lid. I didn't really want a pool, but we inherited it with this house and I was distressed to think of the rich environment around us suffering because of a pool. Amphibians are in trouble world-wide as it is. Pool companies should just sell these things automatically with pools.